Metabolome mined for biofuels

Broderick Stearns / Noble Foundation

A plant called grows in the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation greenhouse in Ardmore, Oklahoma. The Sumner/Saito team will identify and characterize important metabolites related to biomass and oil production in plants.

By John Roach

Japanese and American scientists are teaming up to boost the production of biofuels with a host of studies that aim to increase understanding of the metabolome.

The metabolome is the group of chemical compounds produced in living cells that are used to generate energy, build structures and other life-sustaining biological processes.


The study of metabolites, known as metabolomics, is a piece to the puzzle of understanding how an organism works and behaves under particular circumstances in the same way that genomics brings understanding to the function of genes and proteomics to proteins.

"This is an incredibly important component of cellular function, or organism function, that will allow us to understand how everything fits together," Gregory Warr, a program director at the National Science Foundation, explained to me Thursday.

Currently, scientists can identify and characterize the properties of only a small fraction of the 10,000 to 15,000 metabolites that exist in any given plant. The hope is that increased understanding of these compounds will lead to needed breakthroughs in the production of biofuels.

"By understanding the metabolome, you can understand how one compound gets converted to another, to another, and then perhaps finally to something that's useful as a biofuel," said Warr, who is overseeing the U.S. arm of the Metabolomics for a Low Carbon Society.

The NSF together with the Japan Science and Technology Agency this week announced $12 million in funding for projects in this program.

For example, James Liao, a chemical and biomolecular engineer at the University of California Los Angeles will work with Eiichiro Fukusaki of Osaka University to perform comprehensive metabolic analyses of bacteria and yeast to create genetically engineered bacteria that produce butanol, a biofuel.

Liao told me in an email that the project builds on research we reported on in March where his team altered the metabolic pathways in the bacteria E. coli to more effectively remove nitrogen from groups of amino acids ? the building blocks of proteins ? to produce alcohols, which are converted to biofuels.

Other projects receiving funding from the program will focus on indentifying and characterizing important metabolites related to biomass and oil production in plants, metabolites used by photosynthetic algae to produce biofuel, and metabolites that thwart attacks by pests and disease.

The projects aren't just about biofuels, Bruce McClure, a NSF program director, told me, but about building understanding on ways to produce the full range of products traditionally made with fossil fuels, including plastics and pharmaceuticals.

Whether or when any of the basic research conducted by the U.S. and Japanese researchers will yield products consumers will see and use in their daily lives in unknown, McClure added.

"What you can predict is that any attempt to develop product lines ? will require metabolomic tools and information and intellectual tools that are being supported by this research," he said.

More on biofuels research:

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John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

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As the over-65 population expands, new gadgets and systems will allow seniors to live at home and receive improved healthcare. From sleep-sensing beds to robots piloted by grandchildren, we look at how "health surveillance" can improve quality of life.

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Source: http://futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/11/8756447-metabolome-mined-for-biofuels

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Kid Does the Dishes to Michael Jackson


This almost makes you wanna do the dishes.

Tasked with cleanup duty by his folks, Frankie understandably decided he needed some dish washing music. His parents obliged, and it wasn't long before this once-tedious household chore evolved into a mini Michael Jackson tribute.

Check out his dance moves to "Smooth Criminal" ...

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/kid-does-the-dishes-to-michael-jackson/

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How to use Siri to maintain a shared shopping list

Courtesy of The Early Edition developer Nick Takayama, here’s how to setup a shared Reminders list for shopping, and keep it updated via Siri. Hey, relationships are hard enough, so easy, fun, and geeky ways to reduce the friction are always appreciated. The Setup...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/gjV8XWDpTHc/story01.htm

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Jamil Moledina Bets on a Platform-Free Gaming Future with Funzio

Jamil Moledina Bets on a Platform-Free Gaming Future with FunzioSome believe the future of video games lies in the web-based streaming of triple A titles. Others feel that game consoles and PCs will one day be replaced with mobile devices. Game industry luminary Jamil Moledina sees a future dominated by social action games that people can play regardless of platform.

That's why Moledina has cast his lot with social gaming start-up Funzio, leaving a cushy position as the director of business development at EA's third-party publishing arm, EA Partners, to become Funzio's vice president of business development. It was not a move he took lightly.

"Leaving EA was a really hard decision for me," Moledina explained to me during an interview late last week in advance of today's announcement. At EA Moledina was instrumental in creating the EA Partners' third party digital publishing business, helping small developers with brilliant new ideas find an audience. For a man whose career has focused on identifying and developing emerging talents, it seemed like the perfect position.

So why make a change? "The move is entirely about Funzio...where they are right now."

Where Funzio is right now is a blossoming social gaming company with a huge multi-platform hit on their hands in the form of Crime City. A fresh take on games like Mafia Wars, Crime City launched on Facebook in September of 2010. Since release it's gathered more than 7.5 million monthly players and the highest rating of any Facebook game with more than 600,000 users ? 4.9 out of 5. In August, Crime City became one of the first games available on Google Plus. The iOS version of Crime City, also released in August, was downloaded more than one million times in five days.

And that's where Funzio is that Moledina wants to be. Five years from now he says the successful game companies will be creating compelling social gaming experiences free from constraints of platform, price, or technology; games like Crime City.

"Funzio is the one start-up working to deliver on that order," Moledina said. "Working to overcome platforms as a defining characteristic." He gives the example of streaming video service Netflix. You can now watch your movies on just about any device, from your mobile phone to your gaming console. Why shouldn't our games work the same way? "It's relatively ubiquitous. An incredibly attractive goal for the industry, and Funzio has the building blocks to get there."

And so Jamil Moledina steps into a new role, just as he did when he left his role as the executive director of the Game Developers Conference to purse other interests back in 2008.

"There has comes a point where you have to believe in your own vision of the industry." Not content to wait for his vision of gaming's future to come to pass, Jamil Moledina is taking an active role driving and inventing that future.


Source: http://kotaku.com/5857233/jamil-moledina-bets-on-a-platform+free-gaming-future-with-funzio

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Irish Vatican closure saddens dwindling faithful (Reuters)

DUBLIN (Reuters) ? In the week that Ireland announced it was closing its embassy to the Vatican, the pews at Dublin's main Roman Catholic church are less than a third full for Sunday morning mass. There is no one under 30 in the congregation.

Revelations of child abuse and rape by Irish priests and Christian Brothers, a Catholic religious order, have shattered the dominant role of the Church in Ireland, which was found by successive investigations to have covered up the crimes.

The government insists the closure of the Vatican mission was to save money as part of an economic austerity drive. But few Mass-goers at Dublin's Pro-Cathedral believe that was the only reason.

"It's a pity. It's another aspect of Catholicism being swept away. It's the end of an era," says Kathleen Ryan, 75.

Ireland's fight for independence against centuries of Protestant English rule and the English Crown's historic suppression of Catholicism has bound the religion to the country's national identity.

Historically, the Irish government's relationship with the Vatican was hand in glove.

In 1937, the government consulted the archbishop of Dublin while drafting the constitution, which recognized the special position of the Catholic Church, a clause that was only removed in the early 1970s.

Ireland's membership of the European Union and the growing influence of secular thinking helped slowly to dismantle Catholic-influenced laws. A ban on homosexuality ended in 1993; a bar on divorce was lifted in 1995.

But a litany of abuse scandals in more recent times has brought relations with the Vatican to an all-time low. Two inquiries in 2009 condemned priests and religious orders of brothers and nuns for beating, starving and in some cases raping children over decades.

SAINTS AND SCHOLARS, ELITISM AND NARCISSISM

In July, Prime Minister Enda Kenny, a regular Mass-goer, told parliament the Vatican's handling of the scandals had been dominated by "elitism and narcissism" and accused it of trying to cover up the abuse.

The speech, once unthinkable in a country where elected officials cowered before the bishop's crozier, prompted the Vatican to recall its ambassador, or nuncio, to Ireland.

But Kenny, whose popularity ratings rose after the criticism, had tapped into a national mood.

Ireland has lost its Catholic devotion. Even two-thirds empty, the Pro-Cathedral is twice as crowded as the average elsewhere in the city where churches fill 15 percent of their pews.

A sign close to the altar reads "Dublin Needs Priests." Ireland, once one of the world's biggest exporters of clerics and missionaries, is struggling to persuade people to take up vocations.

"The so-called 'Land of Saints and Scholars' is long gone," said Kathleen Hennessy, 73.

"Our government is very anti-Church, our media is very anti-Church. There are only a few bad apples and they get all the headlines."

But Hennessy, a mother of five, is glad that the Church no longer dictates to government.

"They had too much power. Too much power corrupts, no matter what the institution."

Despite changing attitudes, the Catholic Church retains far more power in Ireland than in almost any other country in Europe. It controls most of the schools, and is involved in running many of the state's largest hospitals.

John Deegan, from a village in County Donegal at the center of an abuse scandal, has been protesting outside the Pro-Cathedral since January.

This Sunday, he has a special banner resting against the church's railings in honor of the Vatican closure. It reads: "The Vatican Embassy is Gone, The Papal Nuncio is Gone, End Diplomatic Immunity, Close All Churches and Leave Ireland Now."

Deegan, 51, sometimes dresses up as a priest with devil horns but this Sunday he is wearing a snappy tan-coloured suit with dark shades pushed back on his head.

When he started his protest, one Mass-goer berated him and doused him in holy water. Now some of the congregation stop for a chat.

"I'm delighted to see the embassy gone. I applaud that," said the former builder, unemployed for the past four years due to the recession. "Kenny's speech was brilliant but we need it backed up by more action."

(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111106/wl_nm/us_ireland_church

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PM wins vote, Greece still faces uncertainty (Reuters)

ATHENS (Reuters) ? Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou survived a parliamentary confidence vote on Saturday, avoiding snap elections which would have torpedoed Greece's debt crisis bailout deal and inflamed the euro zone's economic crisis.

But the nation remained mired in political, social and economic turmoil and Papandreou signaled he would stand down, calling for a new coalition to ram the 130-billion-euro bailout deal through parliament and avoid the nation going bankrupt.

Papandreou's socialist government won with 153 votes in the 300 member parliament, and a rebellion by some dissidents in his PASOK party failed to materialize after he indicated that his term as prime minister was close to an end.

"The last thing I care about is my post. I don't care even if I am not re-elected. The time has come to make a new effort ... I never thought of politics as a profession," he told parliament before the vote.

Papandreou said the new coalition government should secure the approval of the euro zone bailout deal, the nation's last financial lifeline, which is also the euro zone's central plank to prevent economic crisis devastating the bloc's bigger economies.

The leaders of France and Germany told Papandreou earlier this week that Greece would not get one more cent of EU aid if it failed to approve the bailout, meaning that the state would run out of money in December.

Papandreou told parliament that he would go to the Greek president on Saturday to discuss formation of a broader-based government that would secure the euro zone bailout, adding that he was willing to discuss who would head a new administration.

The meeting will take place at noon (6 a.m. EDT).

NO RAPID ELECTIONS

Papandreou dismissed demands for rapid elections as championed by the opposition. "Elections at this moment not only equal disaster but could not take place in the best interest of the people," he said.

"There is one solution. To support the (EU bailout) deal with a multiparty approach, without elections, with a strong government."

Greece has been racked by torment since soon after Papandreou won power in 2009 and revealed that the real budget deficit was three times bigger than original estimates put out by his conservative predecessor.

International investors took fright, Greece's borrowing costs soared and Papandreou was forced to go cap in hand last year to the only bodies still willing to lend at affordable rates -- the European Union and IMF.

In return they demanded wave after wave of spending cuts, tax rises and pension cuts which provoked widespread protests on the streets on Greek cities, with bloody clashes between demonstrators and riot police in Athens.

On financial markets, analysts said Papandreou's victory had been Pyrrhic, and many ordinary Greeks said they were disenchanted with Byzantine political wrangling that was not addressing their basic shortage of jobs and cash.

"Even though he has won the vote, he engaged in a game of brinkmanship ... All that means to me is that his days in power are numbered," said Jurgen Odenius at Prudential Fixed Income, in Newark, New Jersey.

"At least, though, the worst has been avoided, where no new government was formed and Greece gets pushed into default. So at least we're back to where we were before."

Sources said Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has won the backing of leaders of some smaller parties to support a new coalition that he would head. The new government would call early elections in a few months after the bailout had been secured, sources close to the deal told Reuters.

The leaders of the far-right LAOS party and another center-right party indicated after Papandreou's speech that they would cooperate in a new coalition.

In parliament, Venizelos said a new government should rule until next February and then call elections.

Opposition leader Antonis Samaras counted his New Democracy party out of the coalition, saying Papandreou had spurned his call for a national unity government. "Mr Papandreou rejected our proposal. The only solution is elections," he said.

Papandreou provoked uproar at home and abroad on Monday when he announced a referendum on the bailout, agreed by euro zone leaders only last week.

Under heavy domestic and international pressure, he backed down on a vote which could well have rejected the deal, potentially sinking euro zone leaders' attempts to stop the debt crisis devastating economies such as Italy and Spain.

The government officially announced earlier on Friday that the referendum would not go ahead.

(Additional reporting by Reuters Athens bureau; Writing by David Stamp)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111105/ts_nm/us_greece_referendum

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A Warrior's Heart Movie Trailer: Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene Reunite!


Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene rose to fame together via a little saga known as Twilight.

But these two must enjoy working opposite each other because they're at it again in A Warrior's Heart.

The film, which hits selected theaters on December 2, focuses on Lutz's lacrosse player, Conor Sullivan. He starts acting out soon after the death of his father, causing major problems for his mother. Can Greene's cheerleader save the day? Watch the film's official trailer now...

... and remember when you'll next see Lutz and Greene on the big screen: November 18. In Breaking Dawn.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/a-warriors-heart-movie-trailer-kellan-lutz-and-ashley-greene-reu/

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Greek premier launches efforts to form coalition

Greece's prime Minister George Papandreou pauses during a meeting with Greek President Karolos Papoulias, at the presidential house in Athens on Saturday, Nov. 5 2011. Embattled Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou launched efforts to form a four-month coalition government, arguing the move is vital to demonstrating Greece's commitment to remaining in the eurozone.(AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Greece's prime Minister George Papandreou pauses during a meeting with Greek President Karolos Papoulias, at the presidential house in Athens on Saturday, Nov. 5 2011. Embattled Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou launched efforts to form a four-month coalition government, arguing the move is vital to demonstrating Greece's commitment to remaining in the eurozone.(AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Greece's prime Minister George Papandreou, left arrives for a meeting with Greek President Karolos Papoulias, at the presidential house in Athens on Saturday, Nov. 5 2011. Embattled Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou launched efforts to form a four-month coalition government, arguing the move is vital to demonstrating Greece's commitment to remaining in the eurozone.(AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, center, congratulated by socialist government party's ministers and lawmakers after confidence vote at the parliament in Athens, early Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011. Greece's prime minister has survived a confidence vote in parliament, calming a revolt in his Socialist party with a pledge to seek an interim government that would secure a vital new European debt deal. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, far right, and his cabinet applaud after confidence vote at the parliament in Athens, early Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011. Greece's prime minister has survived a confidence vote in parliament, calming a revolt in his Socialist party with a pledge to seek an interim government that would secure a vital new European debt deal. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

(AP) ? Greece's prime minister launched efforts to form a coalition government to run the country for the next four months, arguing Saturday the move is vital to securing a mammoth new debt deal and demonstrating commitment to remaining in the eurozone.

George Papandreou won an early morning confidence vote in the Socialist-led parliament on a pledge that he was willing to step aside and form a cross-party caretaker government. But it remains unclear whether the main opposition conservatives and other parties will take part in the talks and drop a demand for an immediate general election.

Hours after winning the vote, Papandreou met with President Karolos Papoulias.

"Cooperation is necessary to guarantee ? for Greece and for our partners ? that we can honor our commitments," Papandreou said at the start of Saturday's hourlong meeting.

"I am concerned that a lack of cooperation could trouble how our partners see our will and desire to remain in the central core of the European Union and the euro," he said.

Papandreou, midway through his four-year term, was forced into the move by his austerity-weary Socialist party after he abandoned a disastrous proposal to hold a referendum on a new European debt deal. The idea was quickly scrapped this week after throwing world markets into renewed turmoil and drawing an angry reaction from European leaders.

Frustrated with Greece's protracted political disagreements, the country's creditors have threatened to withhold the next critical euro8 billion ($11 billion) loan installment until the new debt deal is formally approved in Greece.

Greece is surviving on a euro110 billion ($150 billion) rescue-loan program from eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund. It is currently finalizing a second mammoth deal: to receive an additional euro130 billion ($179 billion) in loans and bank support, with banks agreeing to cancel 50 percent of their Greek debt.

"My immediate aim is to do everything I can to create a broad cooperation government ... I am not tied to my post," Papandreou said.

"Cooperation is required for the country. We must not go to elections at this moment because it would have catastrophic consequences for the Greek economy and the livelihoods of Greek citizens," he said. "The (new debt) agreement is very significant and will relieve much of the burden on the Greek citizen."

Socialist party officials insisted any new government would need until late February to secure the second deal, warning that a snap poll could scuttle it. They insisted Saturday that Papandreou's offer to step aside was sincere, and called on Antonis Samaras, leader of the conservative New Democracy party, to urgently reconsider his party's position.

"If Mr. Samaras were willing to back a new government, the prime minister would resign today," Yiannis Magriotis, a deputy public works minister, told private Skai television.

Prominent political analyst Ilias Nicolacopoulos argued it would be difficult for Samaras to avoid the coalition talks altogether ? even if he remains reluctant to share power with Papandreou.

"There will be a tough game of poker ? all of last week was a poker game ? to determine what type of government can be formed," he told AP television.

___

Theodora Tongas in Athens contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-05-EU-Greece-Financial-Crisis/id-b355840469224b7cb67667cdebcb4515

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Cable TV ups profits at big media companies (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Comcast Corp, News Corp and Time Warner Inc reported stronger quarterly results on Wednesday, confirming it pays to have a solid lineup of cable networks -- at least while advertisers keep spending.

Against all odds, advertisers continue to scoop up commercial time on television, and cable networks including Time Warner's TNT, News Corp's FX and Comcast's USA have been major beneficiaries. Subscription fees have only helped.

That point was driven home on Wednesday when Time Warner reported revenue from its cable networks rose 7 percent. Comcast, whose cable business is run through its majority interest in NBC Universal, posted a 12 percent increase.

"Cable networks drive the profitability of NBC Universal and they continue to perform well," said Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts, who has staked his reputation on last year's $30 billion deal for NBCU. (For a graphic of media companies' market cap: http://r.reuters.com/vyj74s )

Comcast's cable network results stand out even more compared with the performance of its flagship broadcast TV network NBC, whose prime-time schedule has struggled for years. Already NBC has canceled two shows it just rolled out for the new TV season, "Playboy Club" and "Free Agents."

"The cable networks like USA are firing on all cylinders. Unfortunately, the public face of NBC Universal is the broadcast network, and that is just struggling," said Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett.

At Time Warner, where CEO Jeff Bewkes wants to focus the company squarely on creating content for TV, movies and magazines, advertising sales climbed 6 percent.

It cited strong pricing at its Turner networks, home to original shows such as "The Closer" and to the late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien, news on CNN and sports including baseball and auto racing.

CABLE PROFITS

Overall, Time Warner Inc's adjusted earnings rose a better-than-expected 27 percent to 79 cents a share despite a dip in adjusted operating profit at its cable networks. That dip caused Time Warner Inc's shares to fall as much as 3.7 percent on Wednesday.

"Although we appreciate this concern, we view this as a slight over-reaction given the 7 percent growth at the cable networks and the strong, 18 percent overall adjusted operating income growth," said Collins Stewart analyst Thomas Eagan.

Time Warner also raised its full-year outlook for earnings per share growth to "high teens" percentage points from "at least low teens".

Along with its cable business, the company got a big lift from the latest installment of the Harry Potter movie series.

Operating profits at News Corp's cable networks jumped some 18 percent, helped by strong affiliate fee revenue from cable and satellite TV distributors.[ID:nN1E7A117X]. News Corp also reiterated its previously given fiscal year 2012 outlook for operating income growth of low to mid teens.

ADVERTISING SURPRISE

It is not just Comcast and Time Warner whose results are enjoying the one-two punch of cable advertising and cable subscription fees. Discovery Communications Inc, the company behind hit cable TV shows "Storm Chasers" and "Deadliest Catch," reported quarterly results late Tuesday that surpassed Wall Street expectations.

Next up is Walt Disney Co, with some of the best cable brands in the business, including ESPN. It reports next week.

Today's stubbornly bad job and housing markets -- coupled with Europe's debt crisis -- would seem the sort of troubles that would have advertisers once more slashing budgets.

Advertisers instead appear to be betting that the best way to jump-start sales is to keep their brands in front of consumers with billboards, digital campaigns and, particularly, TV commercials.

Heading into Wednesday, the economy was a major question facing media companies, particularly Comcast. Not only does Comcast rely on advertising from its TV networks, but its chief business of selling broadband, video and telephone services relies heavily on the housing market and consumer confidence.

Overall, it added 229,000 telephone, video and Internet customers. That satisfied Wall Street and calmed worries that arose last week when Time Warner Cable and Cablevision Systems posted disappointing subscriber numbers.

Comcast reported third-quarter net income of $908 million, or 33 cents a share, up from $867 million, or 31 cents a share, in the period a year ago.

Shares of Comcast rose 4 cents to close at $23.02 while Time Warner ended down less than 1 percent at $33.57. News Corp, which ended the day up 1 percent at $16.90, was up slightly in after-market trading by around 1 percent.

(Reporting by Paul Thomasch and Yinka Adegoke in New York; additional reporting by Jim Finkle in New York; editing by Derek Caney, Matthew Lewis, Gary Hill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111103/bs_nm/us_media_earnings

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