Symantec: work on Stuxnet worm started two years earlier than first thought

Most of us think we know the tale of Stuxnet: it's a possibly government-sponsored worm that played havoc with Iranian centrifuges in 2009, setting back the country's uranium enrichment program without involving any traditional weapons. Researchers at Symantec, however, now claim there's an untold narrative. They've discovered a Stuxnet 0.5 version that may have been in development or active as soon as November 2005, two years before the commonly accepted timeline. It first surfaced on trackers in November 2007, and would have created wider-ranging chaos at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility by closing vital pressure valves instead of using the subtler centrifuge technique.

Symantec also noticed that this pre-1.0 malware shares traits with the Flamer code base, putting it in the context of an even larger effort than seen so far. Moreover, it would have required extensive knowledge of the Natanz infrastructure -- this was no casual attack, according to the researchers. While we may never know exactly what prompted the revamp, IAEA evidence suggests that Stuxnet wasn't truly effective until the better-known version came into play. We mostly know that modern cyberwarfare had its fair share of growing pains -- and that it's not as fresh-faced as we assumed.

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Via: Ars Technica

Source: Symantec (PDF)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/aDiP4LRt8uM/

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HTC plans to release more Windows Phones in 2013

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, was briefly hospitalized due to her bipolar disorder, the actress' spokeswoman said on Tuesday after video emerged of Fisher giving an unusual stage performance. The video came from a show Fisher gave aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean last week, according to celebrity website TMZ, which posted the clip. The clip shows Fisher, 56, singing "Skylark" and "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," at times appearing to struggle to remember the lyrics. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/htc-plans-release-more-windows-phones-2013-002000831.html

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Analysis: Emerging deadly virus demands swift sleuth work

LONDON (Reuters) - The emergence of a deadly virus previously unseen in humans that has already killed half those known to be infected requires speedy scientific detective work to figure out its potential.

Experts in virology and infectious diseases say that while they already have unprecedented detail about the genetics and capabilities of the novel coronavirus, or NCoV, what worries them more is what they don't know.

The virus, which belongs to the same family as viruses that cause the common cold and the one that caused Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), emerged in the Middle East last year and has so far killed seven of the 13 people it is known to have infected worldwide.

Of those, six have been in Saudi Arabia, two in Jordan, and others in Britain and Germany linked to travel in the Middle East or to family clusters.

"What we know really concerns me, but what we don't know really scares me," said Michael Osterholm, director of the U.S.-based Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy and a professor at the University of Minnesota.

Less than a week after identifying NCoV in September last year in a Qatari patient at a London hospital, scientists at Britain's Health Protection Agency had sequenced part of its genome and mapped out a so-called "phylogenetic tree" - a kind of family tree - of its links.

Swiftly conducted scientific studies by teams in Switzerland, Germany and elsewhere have found that NCoV is well adapted to infecting humans and may be treatable medicines similar to the ones used for SARS, which emerged in China in 2002 and killed a tenth of the 8,000 people it infected.

"Partly because of the way the field has developed post-SARS, we've been able to get onto this virus very early," said Mike Skinner, an expert on coronaviruses from Imperial College London. "We know what it looks like, we know what family it's from and we have its complete gene sequence."

Yet there are many unanswered questions.

SPOTLIGHT ON SAUDI ARABIA, JORDAN

"At the moment we just don't know whether the virus might actually be quite widespread and it's just a tiny proportion of people who get really sick, or whether it's a brand new virus carrying a much greater virulence potential," said Wendy Barclay, a flu virologist, also at Imperial College London.

To have any success in answering those questions, scientists and health officials in affected countries such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan need to conduct swift and robust epidemiological studies to find out whether the virus is circulating more widely in people but causing milder symptoms.

This would help establish whether the 13 cases seen so far are the most severe and represent "the tip the iceberg", said Volker Thiel of the Institute of Immunobiology at Kantonal Hospital in Switzerland, who published research this month showing NCoV grows efficiently in human cells.

Scientists and health officials in the Middle East and Arab Peninsular also need to collaborate with colleagues in Europe, where some NCoV cases have been treated and where samples have gone to specialist labs, to try to pin down the virus' source.

"ONE BIG VIROLOGICAL BLENDER"

Initial scientific analysis by laboratory scientists at Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) - which helped identify the virus in a Qatari patient in September last year - found that NCoV's closest relatives are most probably bat viruses.

It is not unusual for viruses to jump from animals to humans and mutate in the process - high profile examples include the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS and the H1N1 swine flu which caused a pandemic in 2009 and 2010.

Yet further work by a research team at the Robert Koch Institute at Germany's University of Bonn now suggests it may have come through an intermediary - possibly goats.

In a detailed case study of a patient from Qatar who was infected with NCoV and treated in Germany, researchers said the man reported owning a camel and a goat farm on which several goats had been ill with fevers before he himself got sick.

Osterholm noted this, saying he would "feel more comfortable if we could trace back all the cases to an animal source".

If so, it would mean the infections are just occasional cross-overs from animals, he said - a little like the sporadic cases of bird flu that continue to pop up - and would suggest the virus has not yet established a reservoir in humans.

Yet recent evidence from a cluster of cases in a family in Britain strongly suggests NCoV can be passed from one person to another and may not always come from an animal source.

An infection in a British man who had recently travelled to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, reported on February 11, was swiftly followed by two more British cases in the same family in people who had no recent travel history in the Middle East.

The World Health Organization says the new cases show the virus is "persistent" and HPA scientists said the cluster provided "strong evidence" that NCoV, which like other coronaviruses probably spreads in airborne droplets, can pass from one human to another "in at least some circumstances".

Despite this, Ian Jones, a professor of virology at Britain's University of Reading, said he believes "the most likely outcome for the current infections is a dead end" - with the virus petering out and becoming extinct.

Others say they fear that is unlikely.

"There's nothing in the virology that tells us this thing is going to stop being transmitted," said Osterholm. "Today the world is one big virological blender. And if it's sustaining itself (in humans) in the Middle East then it will show up around the rest of the world. It's just a matter of time."

(Editing by Anna Willard)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-emerging-deadly-virus-demands-swift-sleuth-133352585.html

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China February official PMI to dip, hurt by weak export demand

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese factory activity probably grew at its slowest pace in four months in February as foreign demand remained sluggish, shoring up expectations that China's economy is set for a only feeble recovery this year.

The median forecast from a Reuters poll of 14 economists showed the official purchasing managers' index (PMI) likely edged lower to 50.2 in February after seasonal adjustments, from January's 50.4.

That suggests Chinese factories still grew in February on a monthly basis, but only modestly since the 50-point level separates expanding from contracting activity.

"The focal point will be new export orders, which dipped into the contraction zone in January," said Connie Tse, an economist at Forecast Pte in Singapore.

China's large export sector has been one of the worst-performing parts of its economy in the past two years as belt-tightening by European and U.S. shoppers slashed demand for Chinese goods, a trend analysts say should subsist in 2013 if global consumption gradually recovers.

Growth in Chinese exports averaged 8.4 percent each month last year, down sharply from monthly expansion of 20.7 percent in 2011.

In a possible sign of things to come, China's official PMI for January showed export orders shrank on a monthly basis as the sub-index fell to 48.5.

The HSBC flash PMI released this week, and which is the earliest indicator of China's economic health in any month, also showed export orders sub-index dipping to 49.8.

Dour export growth has forced China to turn to domestic demand to lift its economy. Its central bank cut interest rates twice last year by a total of 50 basis points while Beijing upped state spending by accelerating the building of some infrastructure.

But critics say China's dependence on debt-funded construction of infrastructure is an unsustainable solution for its growth woes.

They say China should instead focus on empowering its consumers through measures including improving its pension and healthcare schemes and the distribution of national income, and lowering individual tax burdens.

The official PMI data will be released on Friday, March 1, at 0100 GMT. The final reading of the HSBC PMI will also be published on Friday at 0145 GMT.

FORECASTS

Barclays 49.6

Citi 49.8

Forecast 50.0

Standard Chartered 50.1

Bank of China 50.2

Zhaoshang Securities 50.2

Rising Securities 50.2

Haitong Securities 50.2

Zheshang Securities 50.3

China Capital Securities 50.5

Huarong Securities 50.5

CICC 50.6

Industrial Bank 50.9

Industrial Securities 50.9

----------------------------------

Median 50.2

Highest 50.9

Lowest 49.6

Prior 50.4

(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-february-official-pmi-dip-hurt-weak-export-040832015--business.html

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Dining Out in Helsinki - 5 Favourite Meals

Dining Out in Helsinki

We are a couple who like to eat. We pay the price for it, mind you, with love handles and frequent indigestion and yet we can?t seem to stop. We feel it?s our duty as world travellers to eat out as much as possible as often as possible. At least that?s our excuse and we?re sticking to it.

So during our recent snowy stay in Helsinki despite the weather we were determined to enjoy eating out in Helsinki so we strapped on boots wrapped up in layers and headed out each evening and sometimes during the day to find restaurants that created warm ambience, offered a friendly welcome and served delicious food. Here were the success stories:

Rivoletto

Dining Out in Helsinki ? Rivoletto

On the first night in Helsinki we were tired and so we stumbled about 100 metres down the road to a restaurant that online reviews promised us ?the best pizza in Helsinki?. We are simple, pizza-loving folk. The pizza is thin base (I prefer the doughy pizza base from the south of Italy) and the menu offers a number of unusual toppings combinations ? duck and jalapeno peppers anyone? ? but it was authentic,??affordable and unassuming; perfect first night food. (We also went back for lunch one day and we tried a couple of pasta dishes, which were on par with the pizzas.

Patron Mexican Kitchen

Dining Out in Helsinki ? Patron Mexican Kitchen

We tried to dine in this packed Mexican restaurant on the Wednesday night of our trip but they were completely booked up. Call us dedicated followers of food fashion but we booked a table for the following night with a heavy-accented Mexican lady. I was expecting good things. And good things we got; excellent cocktails, funky wall art, a crazy calorific but crazy good starter (chorizo and cheese DIY tortillas) and waiting staff that were so stylish I wanted to go shopping with all of them. However, the main course ? a tricolor take on the classic chicken enchilada ? wasn?t full of the fireworks I was expecting and after a few mouthfuls almost became bland.

Dining Out in Helsinki ? A delicious starter

Cafe Gran Delicato

Dining Out in Helsinki ? A tasty salad at Cafe Gran Delicato

Again not far from our hotel on the fringe of the Design District was this Italian sounding coffee shop and cafe serving freshly made sandwiches, soups and salads during the day. It also had an impressively long list of coffees and it was in reading this that I noted the owners are actually Greek. It was for this reason that I opted for a Greek style feta salad to accompany my latte and generous doesn?t go far enough to describe the copious amounts of white stuff I was treated to.

Popular with locals what lunch and stick around for a coffee after, this was our go to for cheap and cheerful lunches and for coffee to write postcards with.

Kitchen & Co.

Dining Out in Helsinki ? Kitchen & Co.

We saved this upmarket and stylish spot for our Friday night. In the same building as an art gallery just off Bulevardi in the Design District, Kitchen & Co. has the wow factor with tall ceilings, minimalist decor and slick service by the friendly waiting staff. We shared a tasting menu starter, which comprised of mini versions of all the Finnish and European inspired starters before each tucking into meaty mains.

Dining Out in Helsinki ? Main Course at Kitchen & Co.

It was uncomfortable to think about desert let alone eat one so we finished our drinks, absorbed the atmosphere and prepared ourselves for the cold walk home. I highly recommend a luxurious night out at Kitchen & Co.

St Andre

Dining Out in Helsinki ? St Andre Restaurant

Next door to our hotel was this brasserie/bar/late-night venue. I know, that?s a lot of different things for this one room restaurant to be and yet it succeeds. Relaxed but reliable service helped ensure the evening was a smooth success from start to finish and the food ? a mix of Asian and European inspired dishes ? was well thought out and well cooked ? I particularly enjoyed the lamb sausages and thick cut chips. A DJ started playing as we began our main courses and the music was so good we stayed after our food was taken away and our glasses were topped up again and again.

A few additional notes and tips about dining out and restaurants in Helsinki

• All of these restaurants provide tap water for the table and this is very much the done thing in cafes and coffee shops too ? London, take note!
• When it came to paying a lot of the places we ate at asked if we wanted to pay separate bills and we saw this being done in nearly all the above restaurants ? again, London and now you Sydney, are you listening?
• Eating out in Helsinki is not cheap. On average we paid around 60 ? 70 Euros for a two course meal and one alcoholic drink each. However, I found for Nordic Europe that this was comparatively cheaper than Stockholm and Copenhagen, and I?m sure if you looked you could find some more affordable options.
• We also did some online research about tipping ? we generally always tip but never know how much so do a little research when we get to new places ? but we were surprised to see that there were a few online notes about how service is always included in menu prices and that some places in Finland consider tipping ?rude? or ?awkward? though we shouldn?t be discouraged from acknowledging good service. These was basically the rules we lived by when eating out in Helsinki, only tipping around 10% when we felt we?d had great service and we weren?t tripped up or pushed out of the door when we left the places we didn?t leave a tip. P.S. ?Tip? in Finnish is ?tippi?. Isn?t it the cutest of languages?

About Frankie_Thompson

Londoner turned wanderer, Frankie Thompson is often better known as "Bird". She and her Australian partner flew their London nest in October 2011 to embark on a life of flight, travel and nest-hopping across the world. A self-proclaimed Flashpacker, Frankie loves to snowboard, eat sushi and pretend she's a mermaid. Frankie documents her travels in words and photos at As the Bird Flies.

Source: http://coupletraveltips.com/1700-finland-travel-dining-out-in-helsinki-5-favourite-meals/

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Syria says ready to talk with armed opposition

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Syria is ready for talks with its armed opponents, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Monday, in the clearest offer yet to negotiate with rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

But Moualem said at the same time Syria would pursue its fight "against terrorism", alluding to the conflict in which the United Nations says 70,000 people have been killed.

His offer of talks drew a dismissive response from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who was starting a nine-nation tour of European and Arab capitals in London.

"It seems to me that it's pretty hard to understand how, when you see the Scuds falling on the innocent people of Aleppo, it is possible to take their notion that they are ready to have a dialogue very seriously," Kerry said.

He said U.S. President Barack Obama was evaluating more steps to "fulfill our obligation to innocent people", without giving details or saying whether Washington was reconsidering whether to arm the rebels, an option it has previously rejected.

"We are determined that the Syrian opposition is not going to be dangling in the wind," Kerry said.

Obama has carefully avoided deeper U.S. involvement in Syria, at the heart of a volatile Middle East, as he has withdrawn troops from Iraq and extracts them from Afghanistan.

Assad and his foes are locked in a bloody stalemate after nearly two years of combat, destruction and civilian suffering that threatens to destabilize neighboring countries.

Syria's Moualem said in Moscow that Damascus was ready for dialogue with everyone who wants it, even with those who have weapons in their hands "because we believe that reforms will not come through bloodshed but only through dialogue".

"WAR AGAINST TERRORISM"

Russia's Itar-Tass, which reported his remarks, did not say if Moualem had attached any conditions for the dialogue.

"What's happening in Syria is a war against terrorism," the agency quoted him as saying. "We will strongly adhere to a peaceful course and continue to fight against terrorism."

Moaz Alkhatib, head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, told reporters in Cairo he had not been in touch with Damascus following Moualem's offer. "We have not been in contact yet, and we are waiting for communication with them," he said.

Syria's government and the political opposition have both suggested in recent weeks they are prepared for some contacts - softening their previous outright rejection of talks to resolve a conflict which has driven nearly a million Syrians out of the country and left millions more homeless and hungry.

The opposition says any solution must involve the removal of Assad, whose family has ruled Syria since 1970. Disparate rebel fighters, who do not answer to Alkhatib or other politicians in exile, insist Assad must go before any talks start.

Brigadier Selim Idris, a rebel military commander, told Al Arabiya television that a ceasefire, Assad's exit, and the trial of his security and military chiefs must precede any talks.

Damascus has rejected any preconditions and the two sides also differ on the location for any talks, with the opposition saying they should be abroad or in rebel-held parts of Syria, while the government says they must be in territory it controls.

"STATE COLLAPSE"

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed alarm about events in Syria, which he said was at a crossroads.

"There are those who have set a course for further bloodshed and an escalation of conflict. This is fraught with the risk of the collapse of the Syrian state and society," he said.

"But there are also reasonable forces that increasingly acutely understand the need for the swiftest possible start of talks ... In these conditions the need for the Syrian leadership to continue to consistently advocate the start of dialogue, and not allow provocations to prevail, is strongly increasing."

Lavrov's warning that the Syrian state could founder appeared aimed to show that Russia is pressing Assad's government to seek a negotiated solution while continuing to lay much of the blame for the persistent violence on his opponents.

Russia has distanced itself from Assad and has stepped up its calls for dialogue as his prospects of retaining power have decreased, but insists that his exit must not be a precondition.

A deputy to Lavrov said the West had not matched Moscow's peace efforts. "Our Western partners ... have to some degree encouraged (the opposition) to continue the armed fight," Itar-Tass quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov as saying.

The Syrian National Coalition said on Friday it was willing to negotiate a peace deal, but insisted Assad could not be party to it - a demand that the president looks sure to reject.

U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has said Assad had told him he would complete his term in 2014 and then run for re-election.

International deadlock over how to bridge the political chasm between Assad and his opponents has allowed an increasingly sectarian conflict to rage on for 23 months.

Assad, announcing plans last month for a national dialogue, said it would exclude "traitors" and "puppets made by the West".

Kerry is to meet Lavrov in Berlin on Tuesday, but a senior U.S. official said he expected no breakthrough on Syria there.

The new secretary of state is also to meet Syrian opposition leaders at a "Friends of Syria" conference in Rome on Thursday.

The Syrian National Coalition said on Monday it would attend the Rome meeting, reversing a decision it made last week to stay away in protest at Syrian government missile strikes on Aleppo.

The change of mind came after Kerry called Alkhatib to urge him to attend.

"I want our friends in the Syrian opposition council to know we are not coming to Rome simply to talk. We're coming to Rome to make the decision about next steps," Kerry said earlier.

(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh and Ayman Samir in Cairo, Arshad Mohammed and Mohammed Abbas in London; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Alistair Lyon and Michael Roddy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-government-says-ready-talk-armed-opposition-agency-091612112.html

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Heat blow huge lead then beat Cavs for 11th in row

MIAMI (AP) ? Dwyane Wade got hot down the stretch, and LeBron James missed a layup in the final minute.

Both were huge breaks for the Miami Heat.

James scored 28 points, Wade scored 11 of his 24 in the final five minutes ? when Miami needed him most ? and the Heat extended the NBA's longest current winning streak to 11 games, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-105 in a back-and-forth matchup Sunday night.

The Heat blew a 22-point second-half lead then rallied from eight down with 5:16 left.

"We're a veteran ballclub and we've been in every situation that an NBA game can offer us," James said. "We don't get too high, we don't get too low, we just play the 48 minutes out and see where it takes us."

Dion Waiters scored 26 points, C.J. Miles added 19 and Kyrie Irving scored 17 for Cleveland, which outscored Miami by a stunning 30 points over a 17-minute stretch of the second half, yet still came up empty.

The Cavaliers are now 1-8 against the Heat since James signed with Miami in July 2010.

"We had a very good chance against a very good basketball team, the world champions, and we lost the game because of mental mistakes," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. "That's just something that we can't have happen again."

In fairness, it wasn't just mental mistakes that doomed Cleveland late. There was a bit of luck involved for the Heat.

Miami was up by two and held possession with 1:03 remaining. The shot clock was running down and Chris Bosh was open to try a 16-footer from the right wing. As Bosh was about to release, James got inexplicably free under the basket, thrusting both his arms skyward. Bosh threw him the pass ? and James, enjoying the best shooting season of his career, did the unthinkable: He missed the easy one.

This is where the luck comes into play.

The rebound found its way back to Bosh, the Heat ran down another shot clock, and Wade got loose for a two-handed dunk that pushed Miami's lead to 105-101 with 24.4 seconds left.

It was a double-whammy for Cleveland. Miami scored and took nearly 40 seconds off a dwindling clock in the process.

"Hey, I'm a smart player. That's what basketball IQ is all about," James said afterward, unable to hold back a sly grin. "I have no idea how I blew that layup. But it did work out for us. Got an extra possession, D-Wade was able to turn the corner and get a slam."

Said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra: "I liked that play."

Wade started what turned into a 16-4 run with a fadeaway with just under 5 minutes to go, then added a three-point play on the next Miami possession to cut the Cavs' lead to 97-94.

And after Irving missed a layup with 1:35 left, Wade got the rebound and set up Battier for a 3-pointer that put Miami on top again ? and for good.

"I thought that we had the game," Cavaliers forward Alonzo Gee said.

Sure looked like that was the case, after a ridiculously good third quarter.

Down 68-46 early in the third, the Cavaliers looked finished ? last-place team, on the road, against the reigning NBA champions who just happened to have the league's longest current winning streak.

Midway through the third, Miami's lead was still 17.

With two minutes left in the period, the cushion was 10.

By the start of the fourth, it was nonexistent.

The C.J. Miles Show lasted for all of 63 seconds. And they were a scintillating 63 seconds.

It starts with 1:35 left, a 3-pointer from Miles getting the Miami lead down to seven. Then he got a rebound, came downcourt and connected on another 3-pointer. Lead down to four. Another stop by the Cavs on one end, then another 3-pointer for Miles on the other ? that one coming both with him drawing a foul from Chalmers, and with Spoelstra getting hit with a technical from referee Ed Malloy for arguing.

Miles made the technical free throw to tie the game, the free throw for the Chalmers hit to put the Cavs ahead, and they carried that 82-81 lead into the fourth, having closed the quarter on a 36-13 run.

"Guys just finally decided to start playing," Miles said.

Miami used a 23-4 run in the first half to take what looked like a commanding 42-22 lead ? with more than 9 minutes left until the break. And after Cleveland got within seven, Miami answered with another burst.

James didn't miss in the final 4:29 of the half, scoring 10 points on a 4-for-4 run from the floor and fueling what became 16-5 spurt that gave Miami a 64-46 lead going into the locker room. And for good measure, Miami got the first two baskets of the second half, pushing the lead to 22, the biggest of the night.

Over, right?

Not even remotely close. Not until the final frantic seconds, as the Heat not only extended their win streak but won for the fourth time in five nights.

"We found a way," Wade said. "I felt like in the first three quarters, I couldn't move. But in the fourth, you just find it. ... We just turned that other switch on."

NOTES: Miami's two wins over Cleveland this season, both at home, have come by a combined six points. ... The Cavs were without Daniel Gibson (personal) and Omri Casspi, who remained hospitalized in Orlando after surgery to remove his appendix. ... Heat F Mike Miller (ear infection) was back with the team Sunday, though did not play. "He can't hear anything we're saying," Spoelstra quipped before the game. ... The Heat held a moment of silence pregame for Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, the moment ending with warm applause from the crowd.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/heat-blow-huge-lead-then-beat-cavs-11th-014637532--spt.html

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A promising fruit: The tree tomato

Feb. 25, 2013 ? A researcher at the UPM is collaborating in the characterization of genetic resource of the tree tomato to enhance its cultivation and commercialization in Andean and Mediterranean countries.

Tree tomato is originally from South Africa and has a high potential for Andean cultivation but it is currently not properly exploited. To preserve and enhance this cultivation, a researcher at the School of Agronomist of the UPM in collaboration with the Universidad Polit?cnica de Valencia and the Universidad T?cnica Particular de Loja (Ecuador), have carried out a research whose aims to have depth knowledge of morphology and genetic diversity of tree tomato. The results obtained can open possibilities of new varieties demanded by the market.

Tree tomato (Solanum betaceum or Cyphomandra betacea) can reach up three meters of height and belongs to the Solonaceae family, which is the same family of potato, tomato and aubergine. It is original from the Andean area of South Africa and widely grown from the north of Chile and Argentina until the south Mexico, and especially in Ecuador. Its fruits are fleshy, oval or elliptic shaped and yellow, orange or purple color with a pulp of pleasant taste, slightly acidic, aromatic, rich in vitamins and minerals.

Their fruit is recommended to consume as fresh fruit or as juices and canned. They are becoming popular in other places: the tamarillo (the name as it is known internationally) is grown and consumed in some European and Asian countries but mainly in New Zealand, which is leading of production and exportation.

However, in Ecuador, and in the Andean region, the cultivation and commercialization of tree tomato is mainly local. Although it is an excellent alternative to other crops, its production continues to suffer from lack of basic knowledge over its production and because there is not any programme of preservation or improvement. The varieties are not clearly differenced and are frequently improperly cultivated. The inadequate commercialization of the product hinders them from its commercialization with recent falls of over 70% of exported volume in Ecuador.

Besides, Mediterranean countries as Spain could constitute a promising cultivation. This situation woke the interest of the agronomist engineer Pablo Acosta Quezada, who focused his Doctoral Thesis on the study of morphology and genetic diversity of tree tomato. The experimental crops in soil at the Universidad T?cnica particular de Loja (Ecuadro) provided him with the samples that later were used to carry out a detailed work of characterization. He analyzed the morphological character of the stem, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds and he also studied the genetic diversity expressed in the DNA by the molecular markers called AFLPs (amplified fragment length polymorphism) in collaboration with researchers at the Universidad Polit?cnica de Madrid and the Polit?cnica de Valencia.

As a result of this work and apart from publishing papers about morphological and genetic diversity of this fruit, he elaborated a list of over 80 descriptors (morphology characters) to describe and to identify varieties and to identify plants and their features of agronomist interest. This list has being recently published in Biodiversity International, the organization of research Support, preservation and use of agricultural biodiversity which work in closely collaboration with the FAO. The morphological characters of the fruit are of special interest for the variability and heritability, what can open possibilities of plant breeders to obtain proper varieties to market needs. Besides, the 78 polymorphic DNA fragments found reveal that the presence of a wide genetic diversity can provide a great action field to enhance and to obtain new varieties. This research is a pioneering contribution of high relevance to know the diversity of a tree tomato, which can be the base to preserve and enhance the marginalized crop of high potential for Andean countries, especially for Ecuador.

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Journal Reference:

1. Pablo G. Acosta-Quezada, Santiago Vilanova, Juan B. Mart?nez-Laborde, Jaime Prohens. Genetic diversity and relationships in accessions from different cultivar groups and origins in the tree tomato (Solanum betaceum Cav.). Euphytica, 2012; 187 (1): 87 DOI: 10.1007/s10681-012-0736-7

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/MlAqSG2vt0I/130225121920.htm

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Ancient continent hides beneath Indian Ocean

The sands of Mauritius are hiding a secret: deep beneath them lurks an ancient continent.

Trond Torsvik and colleagues at the University of Oslo, Norway, analysed grains of zircon found on the island's beaches, measuring the balance of lead and uranium isotopes to work out their age. This showed some formed almost 2 billion years ago ? although the volcanic island is no more than 65 million years old.

So where did the grains come from? Torsvik thinks they are from fragments of continental crust beneath Mauritius that melted as the volcanic island formed. The team have named the proposed continent Mauritia.

It's a reasonable idea, says Michael Wysession at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. "It's hard to imagine how zircons could be there any other way."

Journal reference: Nature Geoscience, DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1736

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Canada routs Nicaragua, reaches U-20s quarterfinals

Posted on February 23, 2013

Caleb Clarke bagged a brace to lead Canada to a 5-1 Group B victory over Nicaragua and into the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship in Puebla, Mexico on Friday night.

The Canadians (1-0-1, three points) will take on the United States in Tuesday night?s quarterfinals. The winner of that match will clinch a berth at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey later this year. Nicaragua (0-2-0, none) was eliminated.

?It will be a special match as part of the Canada-USA rivalry,? Canada coach Nick Dasovic said. ?I?m sure they will be up for it just as much as we are.?

Canada grabbed a 3-0 first-half advantage and never looked back at the Estadio Univeristario BUAP .

Samuel Piette gave the Maple Leaf via a 25-yard strike in the sixth minute before Clarke doubled the lead in the 27th minute. Mauro Eustaquio converted a penalty kick in the 40th minute.

Two minutes prior, Nicaragua?s Cristian Guttierez was red carded ? his second yellow card for a handball in the penalty area ? leading to Eustaquio?s goal.

Eulises Pavon tallied on a penalty kick after Piette was whistled for committing a foul in the penalty area.

Clarke scored his second of the game early in the 53rd minute before substitute Ben McKendry chipped in with Canada?s fifth goal in the 63rd minute.

?We got the result we wanted in the first half,? Dasovic said

?When we went up 3-0 and they went down to 10 men they were up against it. Our boys did well to capitalize on the opportunities we created.?

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Categories: Canada, Central America, Nicaragua, North America, Youth
Tags: Caleb Clarke, CONCACAF Under-20 Championship, FIFA Under-20 World Cup, Nick Dasovic

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Source: http://www.tropigol.com/2013/02/23/canada-routs-nicaragua-reaches-u-20s-quarterfinals/

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News - Report says Microsoft Xbox 720 to be revealed in April

I look forward to April, although I'm praying that the 720 is some kind of box packaging, not that "funky" splat shown in the artist's impression - one thing I particularly like about the current 360 packaging is that it's able to stand flat (ideal for putting in a TV cabinet) or 'tall' (great for minimal footprint).

I've got to wonder whether the games houses have been pressing Sony/Microsoft to move to "commodity" hardware, since that'd obviously make porting a bit easier, (I'm guessing that Microsoft are doing things to make it far easier to port between Windows and XBox). Although an APU-based box strikes me as being a little bit underpowered now in which case what is it going to be like in 2-3 years time?

AMD Fusion processors are most definitely not packaged 'Quad Flat Pack' like that poorly rendered image you're attaching suggests. We've seen them packaged in PGA and BGA, but most certainly not QFP, and most definitely not with teal painted contacts! ROFLMAO You need to get out more... as that's a train-spotter style comment.

Source: http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-news/276826-news-report-says-microsoft-xbox-720-revealed-april.html

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Southwest Florida shines in GDP report

JRL Ventures / Marine Concepts manufactures complex molds that other companies use to make boats rockets and helicopter trainers.

STAFF PHOTO / MIKE LANG

Published: Friday, February 22, 2013 at 2:31 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, February 22, 2013 at 2:31 p.m.

NEW: Southwest Florida shines in GDP report - It's dated, but it's happy.

Odds are we're doing even better now.

A report by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, a division of the Commerce Department, shows that total goods and services produced in the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota market during 2011 was $24.1 billion.

That is up 2.5 percent from 2010, but still short of the $24.4 billion generated in 2008, as Southwest Florida began its long slide into the Great Recession.

Charlotte County, with $3.3 billion in GDP during 2011, had an even stronger rebound from 2010 at 2.8 percent. That was still about $100 million shy of its 2008 performance.

Because of the lag in measuring these numbers the federal government likely will not have the region's 2012 performance until 2014.

But the numbers released on Friday are the most real-time of this broadest measure of economic performance.

Nationally, the average increase among all metros was 1.6 percent, the report shows, so this region was outperforming many.

The total GDP in North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota made it the 88th largest metropolitan area out of the nation's 366. Charlotte's put it at No. 346.

Nearby Cape Coral-Fort Myers was 103rd with $20.3 billion and Naples 146th with $13.4 billion. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater was 24th with $116.2 billion. Other Florida metros: Jacksonville (47th, with $60.7 billion), Lakeland (123rd, with $16.8 billion), Miami (11th, with $263.4 billion) and Orlando (30th, with $102 billion).

GDP rose in 242 of those 366 metropolitan areas during 2011, with driven by professional and business services, durable-goods manufacturing and trade, the BEA said.

Of the 10 largest metros, the three with the fastest growth in 2011 were Houston-Sugar Land Baytown, Texas, (3.7 percent), Dallas-Fort Worth (3.1 percent) and San Francisco (2.6 percent). The 10 largest metros account for 38.1 percent of total metro GDP and averaged 2 percent growth in 2011.

Source: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130222/article/130229873

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MIT on lockdown after reports of armed gunman

BOSTON (AP) ? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology says a man carrying a long rifle and wearing body armor was spotted in a campus building, and the school is on lockdown.

MIT said in a statement Saturday that several law enforcement agencies have responded, and a photo that appears to have been tweeted from near campus shows a road blocked to traffic.

The school advises students and workers to stay indoors and report suspicious activity to campus police.

More details were not immediately available.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mit-lockdown-reports-armed-gunman-145834091.html

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