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Biomedical research revealing secrets of cell behavior

July 1, 2013 ? Knowing virtually everything about how the body's cells make transitions from one state to another -- for instance, precisely how particular cells develop into multi-cellular organisms -- would be a major jump forward in understanding the basics of what drives biological processes.

Such a leap could open doors to far-reaching advances in medical science, bioengineering and related areas.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Arizona State University, with a partner at Imperial College London, report on taking at least a step toward better comprehension of the fundamentals of "cell fate determination" in the prominent research journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Cell fate determination relates to the mechanisms by which a cell "decides" in what direction it will go in moving through transitional phases into a final state.

Using mathematical modeling and synthetic biology techniques the team is manufacturing artificial gene networks (a collection of DNA segments in a cell that interact with each other) and introducing them into cells in the laboratory.

From there, the researchers are able to closely observe through microscopic imaging what is happening with particular cells at their "tipping point," a stage of rest right before they transition into other states.

By learning what takes place at that point, "We can get closer to a fundamental insight about all biology," says biomedical engineer and synthetic biologist Xiao Wang.

Once the mechanisms determining the fate of cells are better understood, Wang says, "We could make gene networks or devices that do what we want them to do," such as create cells that produce medicinal drugs or that kill diseased cells, or create cells that act as sensors to detect environmental hazards.

Wang is an assistant professor in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, one of ASU's Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. He is the senior author of the PNAS paper.

Wang's fellow authors are: biomedical engineering research scientists Min Wu and Xiaohui Li, who work in Wang's lab; electrical engineering graduate student Ri-Qi Su; Ying-Cheng Lai, a professor in ASU's School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering; and synthetic biologist Tom Ellis from Imperial College London.

Their article, "Engineering of regulated stochastic cell fate determination," is available online.

The research team is studying the molecular-level interactions within the DNA sequences of cells, through which the products of one gene affect those of other genes. This helps to trace the lineages of cell development and reveal what drives them in the direction of what kinds of cells they will be in their final states.

Within deeper knowledge of the workings of such processes lays the key to more effectively engineering cells and gene networks.

Wang's team is focused on investigating the intricate properties of gene networks with the goal of learning new ways of regulating the mechanisms behind cell fate determination.

"Our research could be built upon to look at more complicated gene networks and more complex cellular behavior," paving the way for expanding the capabilities of bioengineering to protect and maintain human health, Wang says.

Support for the team's research has come from the National Science Foundation and the American Heart Association.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/UJzKzAFGc7E/130701163851.htm

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July 4th fireworks scrapped at a number of bases

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Fourth of July won't have a patriotic boom in the sky over some military bases because budget cuts and furloughed workers also mean furloughed fireworks.

Independence Day celebrations have been canceled at the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base and at the Army's Fort Bragg, both in North Carolina. The annual July Fourth celebration also has been scrapped at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Ga.

The reason is money ? namely the lack of it.

The failure in Washington to follow up a 2011 budget pact with additional spending cuts meant $85 billion across-the-board cuts that began in March. Budgets tightened, the military took a major hit and many federal workers absorbed pay cuts through forced furloughs.

When the decision was made to forgo fireworks at Camp Lejeune, the commanding general, Brig. Gen. Thomas Gorry, said the cancellation would "ensure that we can mitigate the fiscal challenges we are currently facing."

Last year's Independence Day at the base cost about $100,000, including $25,000 for the fireworks. The big issue is paying the overtime to personnel for security, transportation, logistics and safety. Base officials said they couldn't justify paying overtime when federal workers are losing pay while furloughed.

Brandy Rhoad Stowe says the fireworks at Camp Lejeune always were spectacular, and she said that she and her kids, ages 3 and 9, will miss them this year.

"I know fireworks might seem silly to other people," Stowe said in an interview. "But what is the Fourth of July without fireworks?"

Her husband is a master gunnery sergeant with seven combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.

Stowe says she understands the budgets cuts but still feels a little shortchanged.

"It's just a bummer for the kids," she said. "It's like the Grinch stealing Christmas."

Marines and their families at Lejeune will instead be able to participate in some free activities ? golf, bowling, skeet shooting, archery and movies.

Other bases that are canceling ceremonies to mark the nation's birthday:

?Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, where the annual Jammin' July 4th put on by the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw and local city and county officials has been scrapped. The base plans a smaller "freedom bash" on July 3 with pool games, face painting and bouncy castles.

?The Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, which is scaling back by canceling the fireworks and instead hosting a daytime celebration featuring the Pacific Fleet Band and the Air Force Band of the Pacific.

?New Jersey's Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/july-4th-fireworks-scrapped-number-bases-132547148.html

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Bomb attacks kill 43 people in Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) ? Bombings killed at least 43 people in three different areas of Pakistan on Sunday, just as Britain's prime minister was in the capital pledging to help to fight extremism.

In the deadliest of the attacks, twin blasts near a Shiite Muslim mosque in Quetta, the capital of southwest Baluchistan province, killed at least 22 people, including two women and several minors, and wounded 65 others, said senior police officer Ishtiaq Ahmed.

Initial reports indicated a hand grenade the first blast, forcing people to run in the direction of the mosque, where a suicide bomber detonated his explosives, said another police officer, Fayaz Sumbal said. Radical Sunni Muslims have stepped up attacks in the past two years against minority Shiites, whom they consider to be heretics.

Local TV video showed ambulances rushing victims to the hospital and wheeling them inside on stretchers. Some of the bodies were covered with white sheets. Relatives of the victims frantically entered the emergency room to inquire about their loved ones. Security forces cordoned off the area of the attack.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Suspicion will likely fall on the militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which has carried out many of the attacks against Shiites in Baluchistan in recent years.

In the northwest, a car bomb exploded as a convoy of paramilitary troops passed through the outskirts of the city of Peshawar, killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens of others, police said.

Most of the dead and wounded were civilians, although nine paramilitary Frontier Corps troops were hurt, said police official Shafiullah Khan. The blast struck one Frontier Corps vehicle, but the other passed by safely.

The explosion damaged many other vehicles and shops in the area, according to local TV video. Frontier Corps vehicles rushed to the scene, and a police officer collected evidence from the crater caused by the bomb.

Elsewhere in the northwest, a roadside bomb struck an army convoy and killed four soldiers in the North Waziristan tribal area, the main sanctuary for Taliban and al-Qaida militants in the country, said intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters. The blast also wounded 20 soldiers, the officials said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks in the northwest, but suspicion will fall on the Pakistani Taliban. The group has been waging a bloody insurgency against the government for years that has killed thousands of security personnel and civilians. The militants have proven resilient despite a series of army offensives against them in the tribal region.

British Prime Minister David Cameron told his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, that Britain would do all it can to help fight extremism, a battle that he said requires both a tough security response and measures to fight poverty and promote education.

Britain pledged to provide Pakistan more equipment to battle the kind of improvised explosives that killed the soldiers in North Waziristan and to share expertise in protecting sporting events. Britain hosted the Olympic Games last summer.

"The enemies of Pakistan are enemies of Britain, and we will stand together and conduct this fight against extremism and terrorism together," Cameron said at a joint news conference with Sharif in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Cameron arrived in Pakistan following a visit to neighboring Afghanistan. He welcomed Pakistan's stated commitment to help promote a peace deal with the Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan is seen as key to any deal because of its historical links with the insurgents. Pakistan pushed the Taliban to carry through with its recent step to set up a political office in the Gulf country of Qatar, although acrimony between the insurgents and the Afghan government has hampered the negotiation process.

"I assure Prime Minister Cameron of our firm resolve to promote the shared objective of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan to which the 3 million Afghan refugees currently living in Pakistan can return with honor and dignity," Sharif said at the news conference.

Sharif has also pushed for peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban, although a series of attacks by the group since he took office in early June have led many to question that approach.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for shooting to death 10 foreign mountain climbers and a Pakistani guide in northern Pakistan a week ago, an attack the group said was retaliation for a U.S. drone strike that killed the Taliban's deputy leader.

The Taliban withdrew their offer of peace talks with the Pakistani government following the drone strike. The government continues to stick by its stance that negotiating with the group is the only way to bring peace.

Critics of talks point out that past peace deals eventually collapsed, offering the militants a chance to regroup. They also note that the Taliban reject Pakistan's democratic government and believe Islamic law should be applied throughout the country.

____

Khan reported from Peshawar. Associated Press writers Sebastian Abbot and Zarar Khan in Islamabad and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bomb-attacks-kill-43-people-pakistan-171710234.html

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Iran's Rouhani pledges an inclusive cabinet, moderate government

Iran's President-elect Hassan Rouhani has pledged to appoint a 'trans-factional' cabinet beholden to no political party. His statement should reassure both hardliners and reformists, who he says will both have a seat at the table.?

By Yeganeh Torbati,?Reuters / June 29, 2013

Iranian President-elect Hasan Rouhani speaks in a conference in Tehran, Iran, Saturday. The president-elect called his win in national elections this month a vote for change and vowed Saturday to remain committed to his campaign promises of moderation and constructive interaction with the outside world.

Mohammad Berno/Office of the President-elect/AP

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Iran's president-elect Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday he would appoint ministers from across its political spectrum as Iranian voters had chosen a path of moderation over extremism.

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His victory in the June 14 vote has lifted hopes of a thaw in?Iran's antagonistic relations with the West that might create openings for defusing its nuclear dispute with world powers. Rouhani has pledged a more conciliatory approach than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, under whose belligerent presidency the Islamic Republic drew ever more punishing international sanctions.

Rouhani's pledge of an inclusive cabinet could reassure conservative hardliners who look askance at the endorsement he was granted by reformists in the election.

In turn, reformists will hope to regain some political influence - with the aim of easing repression at home and?Iran's isolation abroad - after being sidelined under Ahmadinejad, who by law could not run for a third consecutive term.

"The future government must operate in the framework of moderation ...(and it) must avoid extremism, and this message is for everyone," Rouhani, a former chief nuclear negotiator, said in a speech carried live on state television.

"The next cabinet will be trans-factional ... This government is not obligated to any party or faction, and will work to choose the most qualified people from all sides and factions, under conditions of moderation and temperance."

Analysts say Rouhani, a mid-ranking Shi'ite Muslim cleric who has held sensitive security posts since the 1980s, enjoys an insider status and close relationship with theocratic Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and may be able to build bridges between factions to yield reforms.

But Khamenei will retain the final say on policies that most concern world powers, including?Iran's nuclear programme and its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against rebels trying to overthrow him.?

CONSTRUCTIVE INTERACTION

Rouhani also urged moderation in Iranian policies towards the rest of the world and called for a balance between "realism" and pursuing the ideals of the Islamic Republic.

"Moderation in foreign policy is neither submission nor antagonism, neither passivity nor confrontation. Moderation is effective and constructive interaction with the world," he said.

"The Islamic Republic of?Iran, as a major regional power or the biggest regional power..., must play its role and for this we need moderation."

Western powers suspect?Iran?of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability, which Tehran denies. The Islamic Republic is now languishing under increasingly tough sanctions limiting its oil sales, a crucial source of revenue, obstructing its foreign trade and stoking higher inflation and unemployment.

Iran's friends and foes indicated shortly after Rouhani's election triumph they did not believe it would bring fundamental change in Iranian foreign policy.

Tehran is at loggerheads with Western powers on a range of foreign policy issues including its shadowy nuclear programme and its support for Syria's Assad, the Lebanese Shi'ite militant movement Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

U.S.-allied Gulf Arab countries have also accused?Iran?of interfering in their affairs, though Tehran denies trying to subvert Saudi Arabia and its wealthy Gulf neighbours.

Rouhani, who will take office in early August, said he was dedicated to "mutual relaxation of tensions" with other states.

Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Mark Heinrich

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/gns6kdR3N48/Iran-s-Rouhani-pledges-an-inclusive-cabinet-moderate-government

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