The art of molecular carpet-weaving

Public release date: 29-Dec-2011
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Contact: Dr. Markus Lackinger
markus.lackinger@tum.de
49-892-179-605
Technische Universitaet Muenchen

2-D networks from boron acids

This release is available in German.

Even the costliest oriental carpets have small mistakes. It is said that pious carpet-weavers deliberately include tiny mistakes in their fine carpets, because only God has the right to be immaculate. Molecular carpets, as the nanotechnology industry would like to have them are as yet in no danger of offending the gods. A team of physicists headed by Dr. Markus Lackinger from the Technische Universitt Mnchen (TUM) und Professor Thomas Bein from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt Mnchen (LMU) has now developed a process by which they can build up high-quality polymer networks using boron acid components.

The "carpets" that the physicists are working on in their laboratory in the Deutsches Museum Mnchen consist of ordered two-dimensional structures created by self-organized boron acid molecules on a graphite surface. By eliminating water, the molecules bond together in a one-atom thick network held together solely by chemical bonds a fact that makes this network very stable. The regular honey-comb-like arrangement of the molecules results in a nano-structured surface whose pores can be used, for instance, as stable forms for the production of metal nano-particles.

The molecular carpets also come in nearly perfect models; however, these are not very stable, unfortunately. In these models the bonds between the molecules are very weak for instance hydrogen bridge bonds or van der Waals forces. The advantage of this variant is that faults in the regular structure are repaired during the self-organization process bad bonds are dissolved so that proper bonds can form.

However, many applications call for molecular networks that are mechanically, thermally and/or chemically stable. Linking the molecules by means of strong chemical bonds can create such durable molecule carpets. The down side is that the unavoidable weaving mistakes can no longer be corrected due to the great bonding strength.

Markus Lackinger and his colleagues have now found a way to create a molecular carpet with stable covalent bonds without significant weaving mistakes. The method is based on a bonding reaction that creates a molecular carpet out of individual boron acid molecules. It is a condensation reaction in which water molecules are released. If bonding takes place at temperatures of a little over 100C with only a small amount of water present, mistakes can be corrected during weaving. The result is the sought after magic carpet: molecules in a stable and well-ordered one-layer structure.

Markus Lackinger's laboratory is located in the Deutsches Museum Mnchen. There he is doing research at the Chair of Prof. Wolfgang Heckl (TUM School of Education, TU Mnchen). Prof. Bein holds a Chair at the Department of Chemistry at the LMU. The research was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Paul Knochel's work group (LMU) and Physical Electronics GmbH, with funding by the Excellence Cluster Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM) and the Bavarian Research Foundation (BFS).

###

Publication: Synthesis of well-ordered COF monolayers: Surface growth of nanocrystalline precursors versus direct on-surface polycondensation
Jrgen F. Dienstmaier, Alexander M. Gigler, Andreas J. Goetz, Paul Knochel, Thomas Bein, Andrey Lyapin, Stefan Reichlmaier, Wolfgang M. Heckl, and Markus Lackinger
ACS Nano Vol. 5, 12, 9737-9745

Contact person:
Dr. Markus Lackinger
TUM School of Education
Deutsches Museum
Museumsinsel 1
D-80538 Mnchen
Tel: +49 (0)89 / 2179 605
Email: markus.lackinger@tum.de

---

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?

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: 29-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dr. Markus Lackinger
markus.lackinger@tum.de
49-892-179-605
Technische Universitaet Muenchen

2-D networks from boron acids

This release is available in German.

Even the costliest oriental carpets have small mistakes. It is said that pious carpet-weavers deliberately include tiny mistakes in their fine carpets, because only God has the right to be immaculate. Molecular carpets, as the nanotechnology industry would like to have them are as yet in no danger of offending the gods. A team of physicists headed by Dr. Markus Lackinger from the Technische Universitt Mnchen (TUM) und Professor Thomas Bein from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt Mnchen (LMU) has now developed a process by which they can build up high-quality polymer networks using boron acid components.

The "carpets" that the physicists are working on in their laboratory in the Deutsches Museum Mnchen consist of ordered two-dimensional structures created by self-organized boron acid molecules on a graphite surface. By eliminating water, the molecules bond together in a one-atom thick network held together solely by chemical bonds a fact that makes this network very stable. The regular honey-comb-like arrangement of the molecules results in a nano-structured surface whose pores can be used, for instance, as stable forms for the production of metal nano-particles.

The molecular carpets also come in nearly perfect models; however, these are not very stable, unfortunately. In these models the bonds between the molecules are very weak for instance hydrogen bridge bonds or van der Waals forces. The advantage of this variant is that faults in the regular structure are repaired during the self-organization process bad bonds are dissolved so that proper bonds can form.

However, many applications call for molecular networks that are mechanically, thermally and/or chemically stable. Linking the molecules by means of strong chemical bonds can create such durable molecule carpets. The down side is that the unavoidable weaving mistakes can no longer be corrected due to the great bonding strength.

Markus Lackinger and his colleagues have now found a way to create a molecular carpet with stable covalent bonds without significant weaving mistakes. The method is based on a bonding reaction that creates a molecular carpet out of individual boron acid molecules. It is a condensation reaction in which water molecules are released. If bonding takes place at temperatures of a little over 100C with only a small amount of water present, mistakes can be corrected during weaving. The result is the sought after magic carpet: molecules in a stable and well-ordered one-layer structure.

Markus Lackinger's laboratory is located in the Deutsches Museum Mnchen. There he is doing research at the Chair of Prof. Wolfgang Heckl (TUM School of Education, TU Mnchen). Prof. Bein holds a Chair at the Department of Chemistry at the LMU. The research was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Paul Knochel's work group (LMU) and Physical Electronics GmbH, with funding by the Excellence Cluster Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM) and the Bavarian Research Foundation (BFS).

###

Publication: Synthesis of well-ordered COF monolayers: Surface growth of nanocrystalline precursors versus direct on-surface polycondensation
Jrgen F. Dienstmaier, Alexander M. Gigler, Andreas J. Goetz, Paul Knochel, Thomas Bein, Andrey Lyapin, Stefan Reichlmaier, Wolfgang M. Heckl, and Markus Lackinger
ACS Nano Vol. 5, 12, 9737-9745

Contact person:
Dr. Markus Lackinger
TUM School of Education
Deutsches Museum
Museumsinsel 1
D-80538 Mnchen
Tel: +49 (0)89 / 2179 605
Email: markus.lackinger@tum.de

---

[ | 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/2011-12/tum-tao122911.php

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Perry Blasts Obama for Not Hosting Parade to Honor Returning US Troops

?It really disturbs me that nearly after nine years of war in Iraq that this president wouldn?t welcome home our many heroes with a simple parade in their honor,? Perry said at a campaign stop in Iowa.

?Maybe it?s because this war is unpopular with the Democrats. I don?t know. But Mr. President, our soldiers come first. And it comes before party politics. We need to welcome our soldiers home. Give them that parade. Give them that pat on the back. Tell them thank you for the freedom that we have.?

Source: http://pjmedia.com/tatler/headline/perry-blasts-obama-for-not-hosting-parade-to-honor-returning-us-troops/

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Can foreign tourists help US economy?

LAS VEGAS?? Agustina Ocampo is the kind of foreign traveler businesses salivate over.

The 22-year-old Argentine recently dropped more than $5,000 on food, hotels and clothes in Las Vegas during a trip that also took her to Seattle's Space Needle, Disneyland and the San Diego Zoo. But she doubts she will return soon.

"It is a little bit of a headache," said Ocampo, a student who waited months to find out whether her tourist visa application would be approved.

More than a decade after the federal government strengthened travel requirements after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, foreign visitors say getting a temporary visa remains a daunting and sometimes insurmountable hurdle.

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The tourism industry hopes to change that with a campaign to persuade Congress to overhaul the State Department's tourist visa application process.

"After 9/11, we were all shaken and there was a real concern for security, and I still think that concern exists," said Jim Evans, a former hotel chain CEO heading a national effort to promote foreign travel to the U.S.

At the same time, he said, the U.S. needs "to be more cognizant of the importance of every single traveler."

Tourism leaders said the decline in foreign visitors over the past decade is costing American businesses and workers $859 billion in untapped revenue and at least half a million potential jobs at a time when the slowly recovering economy needs both.

While the State Department has beefed up tourist services in recent years, reducing wait times significantly for would-be visitors will likely be a challenge as officials try to balance terrorist threats and illegal immigration with tight budgets that limit hiring.

"Security is job one for us," said Edward Ramotowski, managing director of the department's visa services. "The reason we have a visa system is to enforce the immigration laws of the United States."

That said, the agency announced earlier this month that it would increase its staff in Brazil and China to speed up the process after seeing huge surges in visa applications from both countries during the 2011 fiscal year.

The State Department said in the Dec. 21 statement that while the agency "always puts security first, visitors to the United States make critical contributions to economic growth and job creation."

Anti-immigration proponents argue travel to the U.S. is already too accessible and that allowing more visitors would put the nation at greater risk.

"Everybody would like to find a way to admit as many people as possible to visit here providing that they visit and then go home," said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, an anti-immigration group based in Washington, D.C.

"A lot of consular officers underestimate how much people want to come and live here," she said.

Nearly 7.6 million nonimmigrant visas were issued in 2001, compared with fewer than 6.5 million in 2010. The number of visa applicants also dropped sharply after 2001. Those combined forces pushed the U.S. share of global travelers down to 12 percent last year, from 17 percent before 2001.

The proposed immigration overhaul has largely been driven by the U.S. Travel Association, the tourism industry's lobbying giant, and has been endorsed by business titans such as the National Retail Federation, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Republicans and Democrats in Congress are backing the proposed changes through six bills in the House and Senate.

Geoff Freeman, the travel association's chief operating officer, said the State Department should be required to keep visa interview wait times at a maximum of 10 days.

"Every day a person is waiting for that interview is a day a person cannot be here supporting the American economy," he said.

For most foreigners, taking a last-minute business or leisure trip to New York, Los Angeles, Miami or other U.S. travel hubs would be nearly impossible. The average wait time for a visa interview in Rio de Janeiro, for example, was 87 days, according to the State Department.

The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan agency that audits federal programs, concluded that wait times are likely much longer than reported because some department employees artificially reduce the wait times by not scheduling interviews during high-demand periods.

The vast majority of visitors enter through the country's visa waiver program, which allows travelers from 36 nations with good relationships with the U.S. to temporarily visit without a visa. Travel proponents want to add nations whose residents are unlikely to illegally move to the U.S., including Argentina, Brazil, Poland and Taiwan.

Tourists from the rest of the world, including India, China, Mexico and other nations with affluent travelers looking to use their passports, must obtain a nonimmigrant visa. The process can be expensive and time-consuming.

People living far from a visa processing center must arrange travel to the interview location, not knowing whether they will be approved. Roughly 78 percent of all tourist visas were approved so far in 2011.

Tourism proponents want the department to embrace videoconferencing as a way to interview more people quickly. The department has no plans to implement videoconferencing interviews because of safety and technological concerns, Ramotowski said.

In-person interviews weren't the norm before 9/11, when consular officials had the authority to approve travelers based on an application alone. Since then, however, screenings have become more strenuous, with fingerprint checks and facial recognition screening of photographs.

The State Department has made moves to boost its tourist services in recent years, transferring employees from underworked offices to bustling embassies and consular posts. Many visa processing centers are also operating under extended hours.

Other proposed changes include granting more multi-entry visas and charging premium fees to tourists who want a visa right away, similar to the premium passport fee charged to Americans with last-minute passport requests. The tourism industry also wants more visa processing officers and to allow travelers to submit applications in their native language.

"We can't afford to treat them in a way that gives them an impression that maybe they aren't welcome," said Rolf Lundberg, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's top lobbyist.

To help make the U.S. appear more welcoming, Congress approved last year a $200 million annual marketing campaign.

In Las Vegas, where travelers to the Strip have traditionally kept Nevada's economy afloat, tourism and government leaders are desperate to keep businesses open and create jobs in a state with the nation's highest unemployment rate.

"The industries affected by tourism are all behind it," said Republican Rep. Joe Heck of southern Nevada, who has sponsored a bill in the House that would require shorter visa interview delays, among other measures. "We need the jobs."

Ocampo, who spent her vacation shopping at upscale boutiques and visiting family in California, said she would be more eager to come back if she knew her business was wanted.

"Everyone wants to visit the Statue of Liberty and Disneyland," she said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45802686/ns/travel-news/

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The US Has Reportedly Lost Another Drone, This ... - Business Insider

There have been no solid confirmations on this report, but following the loss of a Sentinel RQ-170 drone to Iran and the loss of a second drone in the Seychelles earlier this month, reports are coming out of Afghanistan/Iran that the U.S. has lost another UAV.

PressTV reports that Afghan officials claim the drone crashed in Afghanistan's southeastern province of Paktia.

The news agency also says a statement released by NATO forces Tuesday confirmed the crash, but is calling it an "emergency landing due to technical malfunction."

Spokesman for the Taliban Zabiullah Mujahid claims his group shot the drone from the sky, saying the Taliban have shot down several aircraft over Afghanistan this year.

The BBC Pashto site has a picture of a crashed drone. The site's in Arabic, but check out the picture here.

The?Khaama Press, an online Afghan site, confirms the drone went down due to technical problems and was not shot down by the Taliban.

Since these aren't the most well known and respected news sites, it's probably wise to take the reports with a grain of salt. Just as interesting as the U.S losing another drone is that the claim can now be made, and given the U.S.'s recent record, it's not entirely unbelievable. Regardless, it could be an interesting addition to the propoganda coming out of Iran recently.

Interfax also reports the drone crash via The Voice Of Russia. Interfax is a non-governmental news agency based in Moscow that says the crash occurred near Paktia, and the city of Ahmadabad.?

At 3:15 EDT no major U.S. news agencies have picked up the report.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/looks-like-the-us-just-lost-another-drone-this-time-its-in-afghanistan-2011-12

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Despite Attacks, Klout Is Poised To Boost its Influence

If you even so much as whisper your Klout score within specific circles, you?re likely to be met with a piercing stinkeye. Based in San Francisco with a small pot of funding, there?s something about Klout?s mission -- to rank online influence -- that ironically draws the ire of many influential people. Despite the sentiments, Klout continues to roll with the punches because our online identities are fragmented across different services. These different sites rank their own users, of course, but typically only factor inputs tied down within their own gardens. The main forces, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, certainly weight their own users? activity for various reasons, but Klout has built one single, unified score based on its own independent algorithm across these services.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/bbBVRxYQkYU/

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Paul's surge prompting a new look from GOP voters

Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop in Dubuque, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop in Dubuque, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Chris Noth, a Ron Paul supporter, holds up a sign outside Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign stop in Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Traffic passes a campaign sign for Republican presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, at an instersection in Ankeny, Iowa Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) ? Ron Paul wants to legalize pot and shut down the Federal Reserve. He thinks the federal government has no authority to outlaw abortion, no business bombing Iran to keep it from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and no justification to print money unless it's backed up by gold bars.

And he might win the Iowa caucuses.

The closer the first votes of the 2012 presidential campaign get, the more competitive the Texas congressman has become. It's a moment his famously fervent supporters have longed for. Plenty of others are asking: What's Ron Paul about, again?

As in his two prior quixotic campaigns for president, Paul has toiled for months as a fringe candidate best known for staking out libertarian positions. As every other Republican candidate lined up to attack President Barack Obama's health care law and to promise tax cuts, Paul again demanded audits of the Federal Reserve and a return to the gold standard.

Leading in some state polls, Paul is getting a look from mainstream voters in Iowa, where the 76-year-old obstetrician has emerged as a serious contender in the Jan. 3 caucuses ? and in other early voting states, should he pull off a victory.

The sudden rush of attention to Paul's resume hasn't been kind. He's spent the past week disowning racist and homophobic screeds in newsletters he published decades ago, including one following the 1992 riots in Los Angeles that read, "Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to collect their welfare checks three days after rioting began."

"Everybody knows I didn't write them and they're not my sentiments, so it's sort of politics as usual," Paul said during a recent Iowa campaign stop.

Looking to cut into Paul's support, rivals laid into him on Tuesday.

In an interview on CNN, Newt Gingrich said Paul holds "views totally outside the mainstream of virtually every decent American." And Rick Santorum chided, "The things most Iowans like about Ron Paul are the things he's least likely to accomplish and the things most Iowans are worried about about Ron Paul are the things he can accomplish."

Paul returns to Iowa on Wednesday, giving his impressive grass-roots organization in the state a last chance to present, and perhaps defend, positions he's staked out over a long political career and reiterated during the 13 Republican debates held this year.

Paul has served a dozen terms in Congress as a Republican, but he espouses views that have made him the face of libertarianism in the U.S. He blames both Republicans and Democrats for running up the federal debt and opposes any U.S. military involvement overseas. He wants to bring home all troops from all U.S. bases abroad.

He vows to do away with five Cabinet-level departments ? Commerce, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Interior ? and repeal the amendment to the Constitution that created the federal income tax. He opposes federal flood insurance and farm subsidies and wants to remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances while allowing states to decide how to regulate it.

He says he'll cut $1 trillion out of the first budget he offers as president. He doesn't believe in a border fence but says illegal immigrants shouldn't get a free education in public schools.

He's reliably described by political pundits as non-establishment, quirky, unorthodox. During a Republican debate in Sioux City, Iowa, earlier this month, Paul defended his views and rejected the idea that they make him unelectable.

"The important thing is, the philosophy I'm talking about is the Constitution and freedom, and that brings people together," Paul said. "It brings independents in the fold and it brings Democrats over on some of these issues."

Paul doesn't always side with the most extreme conservative proposals. When it comes to Gingrich's suggestion that judges could be hauled before Congress to explain their rulings, Paul joined other Republicans in dismissing the idea.

Paul's recent surge in Iowa isn't the first time the GOP establishment has been forced to pay attention to him. A fundraising blitz that netted $5 million in one day in 2008 led Republican operatives to weigh whether he was a bigger threat to siphon votes than previously thought.

Now he may be in his best position yet to do more than just steal votes.

"I see this philosophy as being very electable, because it's an American philosophy, it's the rule of law," Paul said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-28-Paul's%20Positions/id-0798f63bd31c4cae9bf21799b50e986d

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The top 11 scientific twists from 2011

Fabrice Coffrini / AFP - Getty Images

Visitors watch an on-screen presentation at the "Universe of Particles" exhibition at CERN, where physicists are trying to track down the Higgs boson as well as faster-than-light neutrinos.

By Alan Boyle

The past year brought us the supercomputer that trounced?flesh-and-blood champions on the "Jeopardy" TV show ... genetic discoveries that showed us the tangles in humanity's family tree ... a tsunami that shouldn't have been as catastrophic as it was ... and neutrinos that shouldn't be going as fast as they seem to. Which scientific twist of 2011 do you find most intriguing? Now's the time to cast your vote for the top science story of 2011.

This year's crop of top stories is trickier than usual because they cross so many lines. I've pared them down to a list of 11, but the only reason I'm able to do that is because of the way the lines are being drawn. I've already touched on two of the biggest science stories of 2011 in our "Year in Space" roundup: the end of the space shuttle era and the avalanche of extrasolar planets.?Our "Ancient Mysteries" roundup casts a spotlight on the big stories in archaeology, anthropology and paleontology.?I'm also leaving out?some big?stories with technology angles, such as the Arab?Spring protests?and the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

So what's left? In this list, I'm stressing the twists in science and technology that go against expectations ? or set up great expectations for the year ahead. I'm also including some personal favorites that you can feel free to quibble over. Check out this chronological?list, review the details by clicking on the links, then cast your vote for the year's top science story:

---

Live Poll

What's the top twist of 2011?

• 171741

  Japan's nuclear crisis.

  16%

• 171742

  AIDS virus on the run.

  7%

• 171743

  Climate highs and lows.

  5%

• 171744

  Quest for the Higgs boson.

  7%

• 171745

  Faster-than-light neutrinos.

  42%

• 171746

  Watson wins on 'Jeopardy.'

  3%

• 171747

  Protein puzzlies untangled.

  4%

• 171748

  Our tangled genetic tree.

  5%

• 171749

  Personalized medicine works

  4%

• 171750

  Heaviest antimatter created.

  3%

• 171751

  Prehistoric fingerpainting.

  1%

• 171752

  None of the above.

  4%

VoteTotal Votes: 510

Japan hit by quake, tsunami, nuclear crisis: The magnitude-8.9 quake that hit Japan in March qualifies as a top story on any scale, but the safety gaps at the Fukushima nuclear facility showed scientifically how nature can confound engineers' best-laid plans. It was just this month that Japan's prime minister announced the facility was in a stable state of "cold shutdown."?Fukushima may be an albatross around the neck of the nuclear power industry for years to come.?Or maybe not. Check out "After the Wave," msnbc.com's special report about the?earthquake's aftermath.?

AIDS virus on the run? An international study finds that people who take antiretroviral drugs ? medicine that weakens the HIV virus that causes?AIDS ? not only benefit from treatment but are far less likely to?infect their sexual partners. The finding?was so remarkable that the results were made public four years early, and last week the editors of the journal Science hailed it as the year's top breakthrough.

Climate highs and lows:?This month, a U.N. climate conference?reached agreement on a new plan to control greenhouse-gas emissions, but it's not clear whether the plan will pay off. Meanwhile, a former climate skeptic says he no longer doubts the reality of global warming, the climate issue creates a controversy on the GOP campaign trail, "Climategate 2.0" fails to gain traction, and Arctic sea ice is?close to?record lows.??

Goodbye, Tevatron ... hello, Higgs boson? After 28 years of service, the Tevatron collider was shut down in Illinois in September, leaving the Large Hadron Collider as the only experiment hunting for the elusive Higgs boson. Discovery of that particle could show scientists how mass arose in the universe. Researchers at the LHC suspect that they've got the?subatomic bugger cornered, but the actual discovery (or determination that it doesn't exist after all) will have to wait until next year.

Faster-than-light neutrinos? Physicists at CERN and Italy's Gran Sasso laboratory say they've clocked bunches of neutrinos traveling between the two labs at a speed that's just a bit faster than the speed of light ? something that relativity theory contends should be impossible. Most observers are confident that the claim will be proven wrong in 2012, due to some sort of experimental error. But a rerun of the test in November, under somewhat different conditions, came up with the same result. Stay tuned...

Watson wins on 'Jeopardy': IBM programmed a supercomputer named Watson?to dominate the "Jeopardy" TV trivia game, and dominate it did. The point of the exercise wasn't to win the $1 million prize, which was donated to charity; rather, the technology behind Watson is being applied to medical diagnoses and other applications. We puny humans can take heart in the fact that Watson is not infallible. After all, it thought Toronto was a U.S. city, and it actually lost a game to U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (although, come to think of it, that might have been a political move on Watson's part).

Gamers untangle protein puzzles: Game-playing humans struck back this year by figuring out the molecular structure of a key enzyme in an AIDS-like virus that afflicts rhesus monkeys. The protein-folding?achievement, accomplished by the players of an online game called Foldit,?served as further evidence that non-scientists can help conduct valuable scientific research through collaborative software. Foldit's game-playing teams even came up with new mathematical algorithms for solving?biochemical puzzles more efficiently.

Genetic family tree gets tangled: Late last year, researchers announced that they found genetic twists in our DNA that pointed to a previously unknown branch of our ancient family tree. Some of our ancestors interbred?with?creatures in Siberia that were not like modern humans or Neanderthals, but were of a distinct strain now known as the Denisovans. This year, geneticists reported that interbreeding with Denisovans and Neanderthals gave a big boost to our ancestors' immune systems. There's also evidence that our ancestors swapped genes with other now-extinct populations even before they left Africa. "Everywhere you look now, we find a little bit of interbreeding," said University of Arizona geneticist Michael Hammer.

Personalized medicine really works: Scientists have been saying for years that someday we'll all have our entire genomes sequenced, and that genomic analysis will open up a brave new world of personalized medicine. This year, it really happened. Physicians found a flaw in a California teen's genetic code that guided them to prescribe new medication for her bouts of sudden breathlessness. The success story serves as "the leading edge of what will become, pretty soon, a deluge of such reports," said Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.

Heaviest antimatter created: Researchers at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider reported seeing traces of antihelium-4 nuclei, made up of two antiprotons and two antineutrons. These are the heaviest bits of antimatter ever detected on Earth, and that record's likely to stand for a long, long time. Sorry, Dan Brown: The antimatter bomb you wrote about in "Angels?& Demons" will have to remain firmly in the realm of fiction.

Fingerpainting at prehistoric preschool: Here's something completely different: Researchers measured the widths of finger marks? to figure out that kids as young as?2 years old?exercised their artistry?on prehistoric cave walls, with an occasional boost from the grown-ups. It's amazing how archaeology can bring a 13,000-year-old culture to life.

So what am I forgetting? Space-time cloaking devices? New York's new bee species? Remember that I have a whole 'nother list of top stories?for space exploration as well as for ancient mysteries, and that I'm putting the Arab?Spring and Steve Jobs' death in a different category.?Let me know what else is?missing by leaving a comment below, and get ready to take a walk on the wild side later this week when it's time to judge the 2012 Weird Science Awards.

More year-end reviews:

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Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/27/9748604-11-scientific-twists-from-2011

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Packers lead Bears 14-3 at halftime

Green Bay Packers' Jermichael Finley (88) catches a touchdown pass in front of Chicago Bears' Nick Roach (53) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Green Bay Packers' Jermichael Finley (88) catches a touchdown pass in front of Chicago Bears' Nick Roach (53) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Green Bay Packers' Jermichael Finley (88) is hit by Chicago Bears' Nick Roach (53) and Major Wright (27) after catching a pass during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Ryan Schaffer, left, and Dan Freese have some fun outside Lambeau Field before an NFL football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) ? Aaron Rodgers threw touchdown passes to Jermichael Finley and James Jones, Clay Matthews made a critical interception to stop a drive, and the Green Bay Packers led the rival Chicago Bears 14-3 at halftime on Sunday night.

Chicago was able to stay in the game for most of the first half with solid defense and tough running by third-string running back Kahlil Bell, who had 89 yards on 14 carries. But Rodgers finished off a late drive with a 2-yard touchdown toss to Jones with 16 seconds left in the half.

Rodgers needed nine plays to drive the Packers 80 yards on their first possession, including a 32-yard gain on a screen pass to Ryan Grant.

Finley had three touchdown catches in the Packers' 27-17 victory at Chicago on Sept. 25, but was coming off a rough outing in Green Bay's loss at Kansas City a week ago.

Playing with a patchwork offensive line because of injuries, the Packers used their no-huddle offense and bootlegs by Rodgers to keep the Bears' pass rush off balance early.

The Bears responded with a run-heavy drive featuring Bell, who started with Matt Forte and Marion Barber out injured. Chicago drove into Green Bay territory, but then committed back-to-back penalties. Robbie Gould missed a 49-yard field goal wide right.

The Packers' offense slowed down from there, and some more hard runs by Bell had the Bears threatening to score again early in the second quarter. Matthews picked Josh McCown's pass out of the air for an interception on a second-and-5 play at the Green Bay 22, ending the drive.

Chicago then put together another drive behind the running of Bell and Armando Allen, and Gould hit a 35-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 with 1:56 left in the half.

The Packers then shook off their offensive struggles in the two-minute drill as Rodgers threw a 32-yard pass to Jones, a 17-yard pass to Jordy Nelson and an 11-yard pass to set up the short touchdown to Jones.

Green Bay came into Sunday night's game playing for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. The Packers can clinch home-field advantage by beating Chicago on Sunday night or by beating Detroit in next Sunday's regular season finale at Lambeau Field, or if San Francisco loses at St. Louis next week.

The Packers were without three of their top four tackles on the offensive line.

Chad Clifton returned to practice this week after sitting out since October because of hamstring and back injuries, but isn't ready to play. Bryan Bulaga was inactive Sunday because of a left knee sprain, and backup Derek Sherrod is out for the season with a broken right leg.

Green Bay also was missing wide receiver Greg Jennings, because of a sprained left knee, and defensive lineman Ryan Pickett because of a concussion.

The Bears have lost four straight games since losing quarterback Jay Cutler to a broken right thumb in a Nov. 20 victory over San Diego. Chicago was 7-3 after that win, but came into Sunday's game barely hanging onto a chance to make the playoffs.

Chicago would be eliminated with a loss Sunday night.

The Bears started McCown on Sunday after backup Caleb Hanie struggled to fill in for Cutler. McCown's most recent start came with the Oakland Raiders on Dec. 23, 2007. He was completely out of the NFL last season.

To make matters worse for the Bears' offense, Barber was inactive because of a calf injury and was listed as doubtful going into the game. Chicago already was without Forte, who missed his third straight game because of a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

Chicago did have Devin Hester, who was active despite an ankle injury.

The Packers were trying for their fourth win over the Bears in 2011. Green Bay beat Chicago in the 2010 regular-season finale, the NFC Championship game, and at Soldier Field on Sept. 25.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-25-FBN-Bears-Packers/id-057bef61ac4f4dd1a17b4e3ae4fc0217

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johpan: off to do my church choir singing thing for christmas mass on christmas eve. woo.

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off to do my church choir singing thing for christmas mass on christmas eve. woo. Il y a environ 5 heures via TweetDeck

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RootzWiki: Android 101: A Beginner's Guide - http://t.co/sRrIsVAg - via @RootzWiki

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Android 101: A Beginner's Guide - rootzwiki.com/_/articles/and? - via @RootzWiki Il y a environ 3 heures via Tweet Button Retweeted by 7 people

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christine_9774: RT @joshuagates: Amazing giveaway today. Want a slick pair of Sony noise canceling headphones? RT/Follow to win! http://t.co/iuoohuDM

Amazing giveaway today. Want a slick pair of Sony noise canceling headphones? RT/Follow to win! Il y a environ 4 heures via web

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Halperin's Take: A More Empathetic Mitt (TIME)

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Prince Philip Taken to Hospital After Suffering Chest Pains (omg!)

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, was taken to an England hospital Friday after suffering from chest pains, a Buckingham Palace spokesman tells the BBC.

Prince Philip, 90, was taken to Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire for "precautionary tests," according to the BBC. It is unclear if he will stay hospitalized overnight.

Catch up on today's latest news

The Royal Family had been gathering for a royal retreat in Norfolk for Christmas.

Prince Philip was last hospitalized in April 2008, when he spent three days in a London hospital with a chest infection. He just returned from an 11-day tour of Australia with the Queen.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_prince_philip_taken_hospital_suffering_chest_pains000000516/43996132/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/prince-philip-taken-hospital-suffering-chest-pains-000000516.html

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The Light Mine Pro Explodes with Luminosity [Lights]

When you're under your car's hood, getting light where you need it is imperative but keeping it there can be nearly impossible. Assistants get bored, Mag-lights roll off fenders, and safety glasses only point where your head does, not where you're looking. The Light Mine Pro, however, sticks and shines exactly where you need it. More »

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Linguists to gather in Portland for national conference

Public release date: 23-Dec-2011
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Contact: Alyson Reed
areed@lsadc.org
202-835-1714
Linguistic Society of America

Hundreds of linguistic scholars from across the U.S. and around the world will convene in Portland, Oregon for the 86th Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA) this January.

Members of the news media are invited to observe and report on the proceedings.

The meeting is scheduled for January 5-8, 2012, at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower.

The meeting provides a forum for the presentation of cutting-edge research focused on the scientific study of language.

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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/2011-12/lsoa-ltg122311.php

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Will Tebow host 'Saturday Night Live'?

Taran Killam played Tim Tebow on "SNL," but the show reportedly would like the real quarterback to host.

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

Tim Tebow was featured last week in a "Saturday Night Live" skit, but could the real Denver Broncos quarterback be coming to the show?

It's just a rumor, but Bonnie Fuller's Hollywood Life.com is reporting that a source says "SNL" would love to book Tebow to host once the football season ends.

The article doesn't say the NBC show has contacted Tebow, 24, just that?producers "(realize) it would be HUGE ratings and they are hoping he will say yes."

Yes, people would tune in -- we'd be among them. Athletes, including quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, have hosted the show, so there is precedent. But if he's approached, Tebow's going to say no, and he's smart to do so.

First off, whatever his athletic skills, he's not going to be comfortable standing up there delivering the traditional opening monologue.

The skits themselves are a whole different thing. Manning actually took part in a memorable sketch where he played off his nice guy image, terrorizing a bunch of?grade-school football players. (At one point, Manning?clonks a kid in the head with a pass and then yells at him:?"Get your head outta your a**! You SUCK!" He later shows them how to break into a car.)

But how could Tebow do the same? He's known for prayers, praising God on-field and off, and going on missionary trips where he has assisted in medical and dental procedures, including, most famously, helping in circumcisions.

There's no question the sketches "SNL's" writers would create for Tebow would play off the many known issues surrounding him -- the circumcisions, his virginity, the on-field prayer stance dubbed "Tebowing." But once they handed those scripts to Tebow, it seems wildly unlikely that he'd go along with what they come up with. Who can blame him?

Manning did it, and he looked smart for doing so. But here's betting the Tebow sketches would be much more personal and vicious, and much more likely to go against Tebow's personal values, religious or otherwise.

Last week's show featured Taran Killam playing Tebow, who is visited in the locker room by Jesus Christ (Jason Sudeikis). After it aired, evangelist Pat Robertson said the sketch showed "anti-Christian bigotry."

Whatever Robertson's opinion, we're betting that if "SNL" wants more Tebow on the show, they're going to have to keep utilizing Killam, not the real guy.

Related content:

Source: http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/22/9638496-will-tim-tebow-host-snl

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A Timely Passing

Working in Kim Jong-un?s favor is his striking resemblance to his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, who, strangely, held a certain charisma for North Koreans. Looks aside, Kim III will need a lot of help; in the meantime, we can expect further consolidation by the Korean People?s Army of its leadership of the country. Even more than in the past, we must expect the unexpected in North Korea. And above all, the West must work closely with China. In that sense, nothing has changed.?

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=2a1ac7c7176b6af36ee05dba4294066f

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PS Vita gets first public unboxing treatment, leaves nothing to the imagination (video)

Sure, we've shown you a hands-on, but we know your brain's been working hard imagining what it's like to unwrap Sony's next-gen handheld. The PS Vita could easily be considered one of the -- if not the biggest -- teases of the gadgetverse; since it was first unveiled, it's only had time for a smattering of cameos. Regardless, no one is questioning the Vita's determination to be in as many wish lists as possible by its eventual 2012 release. Folks who tend to enjoy teasers can find precisely that just after the break.

Continue reading PS Vita gets first public unboxing treatment, leaves nothing to the imagination (video)

PS Vita gets first public unboxing treatment, leaves nothing to the imagination (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AP-GfK Poll: More than half say Obama should lose (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A majority of adults say President Barack Obama does not deserve a second term but are evenly divided on whether he will win re-election next year, says a new Associated Press-GfK poll that highlights some of the campaign obstacles he faces.

Although the public would prefer Obama be voted out of office, he fares relatively well in potential matchups with Republicans Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Another bit of good news for the Democrat: For the first time since spring, more adults said the economy got better in the past month than said it got worse.

The president's approval rating on unemployment shifted upward ? from 40 percent in October to 45 percent in the latest poll ? as the jobless rate fell to 8.6 percent last month, its lowest level since March 2009.

But Obama's approval rating on his handling of the economy overall remains stagnant: 39 percent approve and 60 percent disapprove.

Heading into the 2012 campaign, the poll shows the challenges facing Obama as he tries to win a second term among a public that does not support his steering of the economy, the most dominant issue for Americans, or his reforms to health care, one of his signature accomplishments. Yet voters appear to be grappling with whether to replace him with Romney or Gingrich.

For the first time, the poll found that a majority of adults, 52 percent, said Obama should be voted out of office while 43 percent said he deserves a second term. The numbers represent a clear reversal since last May, when 53 percent said Obama should be re-elected while 43 percent said he didn't deserve four more years.

Separately, 49 percent expected Obama to win re-election while 48 percent think he will be voted out of office.

Obama's overall job approval stands at a new low: 44 percent approve while 54 percent disapprove. The president's standing among independents is worse: 38 percent approve while 59 percent disapprove. Among Democrats, the president holds steady with an approval rating of 78 percent while only 12 percent of Republicans approve of the job he's doing.

"I think he's doing the best he can. The problem is the Congress won't help at all," said Rosario Navarro, a Democrat and a 44-year-old truck driver from Fresno, Calif., who voted for Obama in 2008 and intends to support him again.

Robin Dein, a 54-year-old homemaker from Villanova, Pa., who is an independent, said she supported Republican John McCain in 2008 and has not been impressed with Obama's economic policies. She intends to support Romney if he wins the GOP nomination.

"(Obama) spent the first part of his presidency blaming Bush for everything, not that he was innocent, and now his way of solving anything is by spending more money," Dein said.

Despite the soft level of support, many are uncertain whether a Republican president would be a better choice. Asked whom they would support next November, 47 percent of adults favored Obama compared with 46 percent for Romney, a former Massachusetts governor. Against Gingrich, the president holds a solid advantage, receiving 51 percent compared with 42 percent for the former House speaker.

The potential matchups paint a better picture for the president among independents. Obama receives 45 percent of non-aligned adults compared with 41 percent for Romney. Against Gingrich, Obama holds a wide lead among independents, with 54 percent supporting the president and 31 percent backing the former Georgia congressman.

Another piece of good news for Obama: people generally like him personally. His personal favorability rating held steady at 53 percent, with 46 percent viewing him unfavorably. About three-quarters called him likable.

The economy remains a source of pessimism, though the poll suggests the first positive movement in public opinion on the economy in months. One in five said the economy improved in the last month, double the share saying so in October. Still most expect it to stay the same or get worse.

"I suppose you could make some sort of argument that it's getting better, but I'm not sure I even see that," said independent voter John Bailey, a 61-year-old education consultant from East Jordan, Mich. "I think it's bad and it's gotten worse under (Obama's) policies. At best, it's going to stay bad."

Despite the high rate of joblessness, the poll found some optimism on the economy. Although 80 percent described the economy as "poor," respondents describing it as "very poor" fell from 43 percent in October to 34 percent in the latest poll, the lowest since May. Twenty percent said the economy got better in the past month while 37 percent said they expected the economy to improve next year.

Yet plenty of warning signs remain for Obama. Only 26 percent said the United States is headed in the right direction while 70 percent said it was moving in the wrong direction.

The president won a substantial number of women voters in 2008 yet there does not appear to be a significant tilt toward him among women now. The poll found 44 percent of women say Obama deserves a second term, down from 51 percent in October, while 43 percent of men say the president should be re-elected.

About two-thirds of white voters without college degrees say Obama should be a one-term president, while 33 percent of those voters say he should get another term. Among white voters with a college degree, 57 percent said Obama should be voted out of office.

The poll found unpopularity for last year's health care reform bill, one of Obama's major accomplishments. About half of the respondents oppose the health care law and support for it dipped to 29 percent from 36 percent in June. Just 15 percent said the federal government should have the power to require all Americans to buy health insurance.

Even among Democrats, the health care law has tepid support. Fifty percent of Democrats supported the health care law, compared with 59 percent of Democrats last June. Only about a quarter of independents back the law.

The president has taken a more populist tone in his handling of the economy, arguing that the wealthy should pay more in taxes to help pay to extend a payroll tax cut that is worth about an additional $1,000 to a family earning about $50,000 a year. Among those with annual household incomes of $50,000 or less, Obama's approval rating on unemployment climbed to 53 percent, from 43 percent in October.

The Associated Press-GfK Poll was conducted Dec. 8-12 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,000 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

___

Associated Press writer Stacy A. Anderson and News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

___

Online: http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_el_pr/us_obama_poll

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