Saturday, December 31, 2011

Apple iPhone Storage Dilemma Continues

By Diogo Neves - Thu Dec 29, 2:00 am

?A couple of days ago, our own @dani2xll wrote an amazing piece on her adventures to get a new iPhone 4S. I won?t spoil it for you so hit the link and read the full thing (it?s worth it). Ok, you done reading that? Let me carry on then.

I was reading that post and I was saying to my self every 2 sentences how true everything written there was, but since this is a subject that I had thought before I was compelled to analyse it a little deeper. So after thinking for a while I have to say that I disagree with her and that I also agree. I?ll explain myself: I totally agree that more often than not storage is overrated. This isn?t bluntly written there, but it is implied. People care too much about a number and end up wasting money buying storage that they won?t need. However I don?t think a 16GB or even a 32GB iPhone is enough for everyone.

#1 -- It is absolutely true that I won?t have enough battery to enjoy 64GB of content in one charge, but it?s still a lot easier to carry a little power plug and a cable and charge the iPhone when I can than carrying a computer so I can change that content on the go.

#2 -- I think that taking 8GB of music, a 5GB movie and around 10GB of apps on an iPhone is perfectly normal, so the user can choose what game to play or what music to listen to while out and about. I may not have enough battery to consume it all in one go, but at least I can choose what to watch and not have to decide the day before while trying to guess what I?ll want to do with my phone the next day.

#3 -- The cool thing about a flash memory upgrade (be it an SSD or a USB stick or the internal memory of these devices) is that the smallest upgrade you can is to double your storage and that is amazing value for money. Specially in this fast paced tech world it?s a good investment to keep the device a little more future proof. The typical contract is around 2/3 years and in that time who knows how the storage needs will grow? Maybe a new and better audio format comes along but it takes a lot more space, or maybe the apps will grow a lot bigger due to some new amazing feature that they all want to implement or maybe movies will be 6D and they?ll take 20GB. In all seriousness though, an upgrade is always an upgrade and one that, at least, doubles your storage and gives you peace of mind about the future is worth it if you can afford it.

#4 -- This is a no brainer. As much as we?d like to be different the fact is that we are all lazy! We are the species that invented televisions and then went back to the white board to invent something to control it from the couch! We invent stuff to remove the workload from our backs all the times. All of the great inventions are meant to save us from some work and it?s just as the world works in general. On this specific issue though we are lazy because we don?t want to go through the hassle of revising and choosing and changing the content on our phone just because the storage isn?t enough. We just don?t want to put with that. I?m a geek and I?m to lazy to do that. Again, if you can afford a bigger storage capacity it?s worth it!

To finish I?d like to add that I own a 16GB iPhone 4. I?m perfectly happy with those 16GB and I would change to 32GB if I had the chance, but I never really felt that I needed more storage. The bottom line is that I don?t think that you should decide the storage capacity of your next iPhone based on what it can play in one charge, but rather what it needs to be to hold everything you?d want to have in there. I for one save all the music I want in my phone, plus photos and videos and apps and I always sit with at least 4GB free so I?m fine with that, but if you have a 20GB big music library getting the 16GB iPhone might not be the smartest move. Check what you need and what you realistically need and go with that.

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Friday, December 30, 2011

NBA: Spurs quiet Clippers buzz with big 115-90 win

Published: 5:49PM Thursday December 29, 2011 Source: Reuters

  • Spurs quiet Clippers buzz with big NBA win (Source: Getty Images)

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San Antonio squashed some of the hype surrounding the revamped Los Angeles Clippers this afternoon (NZT) with a 115-90 victory that lifted the Spurs to 2-0 in the new season.

A blockbuster trade for point guard Chris Paul, and the acquisition of starters Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler, created a buzz about the Clippers that only grew after their season-opening victory over Golden State on Monday.

However, San Antonio brought them crashing back to Earth this afternoon with Manu Ginobili scoring 24 points and DeJuan Blair adding 20. The Spurs shot 56 percent for the game.

San Antonio padded a four-point half-time lead into a 25-point advantage with a run of points in the third quarter.

Blake Griffin led the Clippers (1-1) with 28 points and nine rebounds. Four other Clippers finished in double digits, including Paul with 10.

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Sri Lanka in South Africa, 2011 Test Series: 2nd Test, Day 3

Kumar Sangakkara's pioneering century in South Africa put the hosts to the sword on Day 3. - a_faisal69 / flickr
Kumar Sangakkara's pioneering century in South Africa put the hosts to the sword on Day 3. - a_faisal69 / flickr

Kumar Sangakkara leads the charge of Sri Lanka's resurgent cricket team against a rattled South Africa on day 3 of the second Test match.

At long last, Sri Lanka had reason to smile, as Chanaka Welegedera and Rangana Herath did the unthinkable and bundled South Africa out for a measly 168. It secured a vital 170-run lead over South Africa going into the second innings, but the hosts were not far behind, with Dale Steyn snapping up the big wicket of Tillekeratne Dilshan to leave Sri Lanka at 7/1 - effectively 177/1 - when stumps were drawn.

Early Struggles for Sri Lanka

Day 3 started with clouds over the ground, and clouds over South Africa, as Mark Boucher dropped Kumar Sangakkara (on nought) off Morne Morkel from just the fourth ball of the day. Morkel had his revenge, snaring an edge off Tharanga Paranavitana to leave Sri Lanka in familiar trouble at 20/2. Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene stitched a brief recovery before falling LBW to Marchant de Lange. Sri Lanka 44/3, but Sangakkara, aided by Thilan Samaraweera, fought back to score quick runs and finish the truncated session at 64/3.

Sangakkara & Samaraweera vs. South Africa

The two batsmen were bullish in the second session, bringing up the 50 partnership off just 82 balls, then taking the score past 100 in the same over. Sangakkara reached his half-century shortly after, and even the reintroduction of the fearsome Dale Steyn into the attack couldn't stop the Sri Lankans from dictating terms. Runs and boundaries flowed as the lead passed 300, but just as South Africa seemed to have settled for defensive play, Imran Tahir forced Samaraweera to play on to his stumps. Samaraweera gone for 43, and South Africa finally had a breakthrough at 138/4, ending a vital 94-run partnership.

South Africa Fight, but Sri Lanka Ahead

The second breakthrough came in the next over, as Angelo Mathews threw his wicket away with a wild slog against Dale Steyn. 141/5, with the hosts back in the fight now. But they ran into Sangakkara and Dinesh Chandimal, continuing his impressive debut. The two distanced Sri Lanka from the brace of wickets, as Sangakkara raced through the 90s to reach three figures and score his first Test century in South Africa. And to think, he was dropped before he had even scored. Sri Lanka went to tea sitting very nicely at 207/5.

Sangakkara's Century Makes It Sri Lanka's Day

The runs continued to pile on in the final session. When Sri Lanka passed 230/5, the lead crossed 400. Sangakkara's century led the way as he became the highest Sri Lankan run scorer in South Africa, his 105* making his the highest individual Sri Lankan score in the country. Chandimal soon reached his second half-century of the game, becoming the first Sri Lankan debutante to do so, before Steyn finally snapped the 104-run stand, finding Chandimal's edge for 54. 245/6, but the game well and truly with Sri Lanka.

South Africa gained some momentum with Kumar Sangakkara's wicket the next over, but his stellar 108 ensured it was too little, too late for the hosts. Decaying light led to stumps being called at 256/7, with the visitors ahead by an unreachable 426.

Will Lankan Lightning Strike Twice?

The job is not yet over for Sri Lanka; they still have to bowl South Africa out again, and the chances of two poor South African batting displays in one game is very slim. That said, after the Lankans were rolled over for under 200 in both innings in the previous game, this is a markedly better showing. The batting needs more work - lots of batsmen threw their wickets away - but the displays of Sangakkara, Samaraweera and especially Dinesh Chandimal are reassuring. Now the question is, can Welegedera and Herath turn it on again.

A Rare Off-Day For South Africa

It was a disappointing day for South Africa's bowlers. They did work hard to prize out some wickets, but a lot of that also came from the Sri Lankans' poor technique and shot selection. Once Sangakkara, Samaraweera and Chandimal settled in, there was no fight or drive from the host team. It will be interesting to see what their strategy is, with a possible target of 450 to get in two days, with the memory of being bundled out for 168 still fresh on their minds.

Sri Lanka vs. South Africa, Second Test, Day 3:

  • Sri Lanka 256/7 (Kumar Sangakkara 108, Dale Steyn 16-3-54-3)
  • lead South Africa by 426 h 3 wickets remaining

Scorecard at Cricinfo

Copyright Michael Perera. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

Michael Perera - The only rule in writing is honesty. If you're honest, the words will write themselves.

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Two charged over claims in Sugarland collapse

Two women are being charged after the Marion County prosecutor said they filed false claims related to the Indiana State Fair stage collapse.

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Prosecutor Terry Curry says Stephanie Murry and Sandra Hurn submitted claims to the Indiana State Fair Remembrance Fund (ISFRF) and the Indiana Tort Claim Fund, which is administered by the Indiana Attorney General's Office. Authorities say the women each submitted claims totaling $22,500.

According to the prosecutor, the women claimed they were injured in the Aug. 13 stage collapse. The prosecutor's office alleges that the women falsified hospital records in order to be eligible to make claims to both funds.

"The state police determined pretty that the medical records submitted were falsified," said Curry.

In fact, Curry said, neither Hurn nor Murry even attended the concert.

"It would certainly appear from the investigation that neither woman was actually at the State Fair," Curry told Eyewitness News. "Sandra Hurn stated who she went with and that she was there for a couple of the Sugarland songs which obviously Sugarland never performed that night."

The scaffolding on the stage collapsed when a strong thunderstorm moved through that night. That happened after Sara Bareilles left the stage but before Sugarland came on.

Curry says Hurn collected $7,500 from the ISFRF, but Murry's claim was denied because her alleged injuries did not meet qualifications to receive ISFRF funds.

Both women also submitted a notice of tort claim to the Indiana attorney general's office, and both were notified they would receive money from the fund. But Hurn was arrested when she went to pick up a claim check, and Murry was arrested a short time after that.

"It's beyond troubling in a situation which was clearly a tragedy, people were legitimately injured even killed, that there are people out there that in turn exploit it for their own gain," said Curry.

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The alleged false claims are especially disheartening for the people who were there that night and did suffer injuries.

"I can't believe that someone could stoop that low to do that. I'm appalled. I'm actually very angry," said Laura Magdziarz, who suffered a broken leg that night. Her young daughter Maggie had a critical arm injury. "That's just unbelievable. There are people out there that desperately needed the money and there's a lot of people that didn't get any money for the same reasons - they had people at different hospitals; they needed to find their family and that was more important than staying in the hospital."

That was the situation for Magdziarz, whose own claim was denied because she was not admitted to the hospital that night despite having broken her leg as the scaffolding came down that night. Magdziarz' first priority was to be by the bedside of her four-year-old daughter, who was undergoing surgery at a different hospital.

"Somebody either has to be really desperate or cold-hearted. That's like adding insult to injury," Magdziarz said. "I'm glad they caught them. I hope they throw the book at them."

Stephanie Murry has been charged with one count of forgery (class C felony), one count of perjury (class D felony), and one count of attempt theft (class D felony).

Sandra Hurn has been charged with three counts of forgery (class C felony), two counts of perjury (class D felony), one count of theft (class D felony), and one count of attempt theft (class D felony).

The maximum penalty both women could face for a class C felony is eight years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45804542/ns/today-entertainment/

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joyonlineghana: Nigeria's Supreme Court clears President Jonathan's election victory .... http://t.co/NhIE1uzo

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Seeking justice for victims across borders

The nonprofit group CJA tracks down those who commit crimes in one country and flee to another ? and hauls them into court.

Last August, federal agents in Massachusetts arrested a man in his late 60s. The man, Inocente Montano, had lived quietly north of Boston since 2002. Then, in May, Mr. Montano, who had been a military officer in El Salvador in the 1980s, was indicted by a judge in Spain for his involvement in the 1989 killings of six Jesuit priests and two women during the civil war. Now Montano endures home detention, facing US immigration charges, held by one government and wanted by another.?

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American law enforcement has arrested hundreds of people like Montano ? foreign former military commanders or officials now living in the United States despite involvement abroad in torture, extrajudicial killings, or other serious human rights abuses. These hundreds are dwarfed by the survivors around the world who are themselves victims of such acts or are relatives of the abused or dead.

For many survivors it has been decades since they were harmed. They have been denied by politics or corruption any redress in their home countries. Their histories show that one consequence of war is that peace may offer no justice.

A small San Francisco-based nonprofit organization called the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) works to find a measure of justice ? and, just as importantly, truth ? for such victims.

??So often what happens in cases involving state-sanctioned violence is the state also hides any evidence,? says Pamela Merchant, the CJA?s director.? ?It?s hugely important for survivors to have their stories acknowledged at all.?

Montano was named in a 1993 United Nations report on human rights abuses during the Salvadoran war. It was the CJA that in 2008 first filed a criminal complaint in Spain for the Jesuits? killings (20 people were included in the May indictments).? It was the CJA that finally found Montano living outside Boston and publicized his past, leading to his arrest by US authorities for not disclosing his military career on his immigration applications.?

Yet much more of CJA?s work has focused on litigation in US courts to achieve civil judgments for clients from Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.?

?Most of our cases are civil litigation ? often we never see any money [from judgments]; it?s more about [having] your day in court and confronting the atrocity and the abuser, and having the opportunity to tell the truth,? Ms. Merchant says.

Along with pro bono counsel, the CJA (with just 10 employees) has won millions of dollars in judgments for its clients and has brought the importance of human rights to the attention of American politicians and news media.?

Even in victory, though, the CJA?s cases often depict a dismaying reality: After a war, peace, no matter how welcome, can fail to deliver justice and transparency.

In a 2008 result in Florida, the CJA won a $37 million judgment against a former army officer in Peru who led a 1985 massacre of villagers high in the Andes Mountains. The incident was one of the worst in the conflict between Peru and the Shining Path insurgents. The CJA?s clients, two women, then 12 years old, watched the officer and his men shoot their families and burn them alive. As many as 69 people were killed in what became known as the Accomarca Massacre.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/wT_wEl79A00/Seeking-justice-for-victims-across-borders

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Stylish para Google Chrome

Stylish es una extensi?n para el navegador Google Chrome, la cual nos permite personalizar algunas de las p?ginas m?s visitadas por los usuarios de internet, entre las que podemos destacar, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter entre otras.

Esta extensi?n es muy ?til para aquellos que les gusta cambiar la apariencia de su ordenador constantemente, su funcionalidad es la de darle otra apariencia a dichas p?ginas. Por ejemplo si estas aburrido de ver los colores de Facebook (blanco y azul), con esta peque?a pero muy ?til extensi?n le puedes cambiar los colores com?nmente vistos a un color que sea de tu agrado. Esta extensi?n trabaja como una especie de tema, con la diferencia que lo que personaliza es tu navegador (Google Chrome) y as? d?ndole un toque visual mucho

Source: http://bitacoras.com/anotaciones/stylish-para-google-chrome/24884060

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

iPad 3 set to release on Jobs? birthday?

Rumour has it that Apple Inc. is planning to release the already famous iPad 3 on February 23, to commemorate its deceased founder Steve Jobs on his birthday.

Chinese dailies are buzzing with news that Apple is rushing production of its iPad 3 in the hopes of releasing it on February 23, just in time for Steve Jobs? birthday. Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that alleged iPad 3 home buttons have begun floating around in China town, which means that the final product is being slapped together as you read this.

Citing multiple inside sources, China?s Economic Daily News speculates that the big date has been set and the first shipment amount of the tablet will be 4 million units.

Local assemblers including Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co, Genius Electronic Optical Co and several others will have shorter Spring Festival holidays, estimated at five days, in order to rush the work, the newspaper says.

Just to remind our readers, Apple unveiled the iPad on January 27, 2010 and the iPad2 on March 3, 2011. So perhaps early 2012 seems about the right time to launch the third version of the legendary iPad. Add a dead founder and his birthday, and the date should be correct. Or maybe not. Watch this space.

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Gary McCormick and Mayor Tim Shadbolt

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Monday 2 January 2012, 8:00pm

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Stand-up comedy at its best! Come for an evening of laughs and giggles with two of New Zealand's funniest men. Proceeds go to the theatre restoration fund.

Tickets available from Opunake Post and Lotto or email: northmeetswest@xtra.co.nz

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Monday, December 26, 2011

ndn: Next phase of Oil Well Road widening under way in Golden Gate Estates http://t.co/pBbfnEK1

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Gillmor Gang 12.24.11 (TCTV)

Gillmore Gang test patternThe Gillmor Gang ? Robert Scoble, John Taschek, Kevin Marks, and Steve Gillmor ? took a WiFi stroll through the forest that is Hollywood's attempt to lock down our TVs. It's really too late, what with SOPA boycotts, reverse engineering of the Apple AirPlay bus, and Microsoft's slow fade from CES underway. But that doesn't stop the Cartel from trying. It may turn out that you can someday move network news shows from Slingbox to the iPad and back up to Apple TV over WiFi, but for now the realtime bus is getting choked. In fact all things streaming is about to collide with bandwidth caps, at least in our house. With 5 Apple TVs and counting, it won't be long before WiFi consulting becomes a trade school offering. Me, I'm off to Fry's. Happy Holidays.

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

German Court Rules Muslim Student Disturbed the Peace by Praying (Time.com)

This post is in partnership with Worldcrunch, a new global-news site that translates stories of note in foreign languages into English. The article below was originally published in S?ddeutsche Zeitung.

(MUNICH) -- Yunus M., an 18-year-old Muslim high school student at Diesterweg Gymnasium in Berlin, Germany, has failed in his fight for the right to pray in the public corridors at school. The latest decision concerns this individual case only, judges at the Federal Administrative Court emphasized. But should the plaintiff, who is near graduation, opt to pursue the matter, the only further legal recourse open to him is the Federal Constitutional Court.

The question that the case raises, however, remains: should Muslim students be able to pray openly at school?

Four years ago, Yunus M. and seven friends gathered in the school corridor to bow in the direction of Mecca. The school's director forbid them to do it again, and the case went through a local court, then a court of appeal, before being heard at the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. (See photos of Ramadan in the year of the Arab Spring.)

According to chief justice Werner Neumann, students have a fundamental right to pray at school. He said, however, that religious freedom has its limits if it threatens to cause social friction within the school, as was the case here. The court agreed with the position of the school, whose director stated that there had been repeated religious conflicts at the school, and that at an establishment where 90% of the students were not German it was impossible for them all to claim a right to pray there publically. In addition, the director stated, Yunus M. had been offered a space where he could pray privately.

A case-by-case issue?

The case had previously resulted in contradictory court decisions. In September 2009, the Berlin Administrative Court decided in favor of Yunus M., a ruling which the Administrative Appeals Tribunal overturned six months later.

The Berlin Administrative court called in jurist Matthias Rohe, an expert on Islam, who said that the Muslim boy's stance was a "plausible opinion in the spectrum of religious freedom" and that Yunus M. was not an extremist. The Appeals Tribunal called in a colleague of Rohe's, Tilman Nagel, who stated that even the prophet Mohammed had put off praying to make community life simpler.

Yunus M.'s case underscores a basic tension: Do state institutions have to accept strict, conservative, even fundamentalist practices when other interpretations are possible? (See the top 10 world stories of 2011.)

The Leipzig court avoided this debate by stressing the individual nature of its decision. For this the court earned praise from some Christian churches. Spokespersons for the Berlin-Brandenburg Evangelical Church and the Archdiocese of Berlin said the court's decision aligned with the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Yunus M.'s lawyer said they were waiting for the written decision before deciding whether or not to go to the Supreme Court, a move he described, nevertheless, as unlikely.

Also from Worldcrunch:

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What the World Owes Greece: A Different Look at the Financial Crisis
-- Die Welt

EU to Restrict Sale of Lethal Injection Drug to U.S.
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See TIME's special report "The Middle East in Revolt."

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View this article on Time.com

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US rep apologizes to first lady on 'big butt' quip (The Arizona Republic)

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Three Thoughts Each on North Carolina?s Domination of Texas

December 22nd, 2011

Here are three thoughts about each team I garnered from Wednesday?s game in Chapel Hill. The observations on North Carolina probably hold a little more water, as the team is much more experienced. On the other hand, Texas will probably improve significantly between now and the end of the season.

  • Reggie Bullock isn?t just getting love from bloggers for his defense; Roy Williams put the sophomore on Texas? explosive J?Covan Brown whenever Bullock was in the game. Bullock?s length (he?s 6?7?) was definitely a factor, but he also did a very good job staying in front of Brown on most plays. After the game Williams? one criticism was that Bullock didn?t box out well. But Bullock has earned the spot as the first substitute to enter the game (for Dexter Strickland), and his offensive skills make North Carolina a much more dangerous team when he?s in the game.
  • Texas needs Myck Kabongo and Rick Barnes on the same page. Last night Barnes benched his star point guard for a lack of ?discipline? and ?purpose? on offense. Without Kabongo, Texas isn?t nearly as dangerous. The forwards in particular really need a facilitator to create play-making opportunities. Kabongo is also lethal in transition. The bottom line is your second-best player can?t be riding the pine in big games.

Reggie Bullock has Earned a Spot in North Carolina's Main Rotation.

  • Harrison Barnes played his best game of the year offensively. Frankly, it?s not even close. Barnes scored in nearly every way possible. He scored in catch-and-shoot situations, isolation sets and on put-backs. He only had four offensive rebounds, but watching the game it felt like at least six or eight of his points came off those rebounds. This is the Harrison Barnes people were expecting when they picked him as a NPOY frontrunner.
  • Texas really misses Tristan Thompson inside. Yes, Thompson wasn?t polished offensively, but his rebounding and defense are major holes in the current Longhorn frontline. Gary Johnson?s rebounding also would be invaluable. Wednesday night Jonathon Holmes, Alexis Wangmene and Clint Chapman (three of the four forwards who played for Texas) combined to grab three defensive rebounds. The team only managed 17 defensive rebounds total (in comparison to 22 offensive rebounds for North Carolina).

Roy Williams Towels Up a Wet Spot During the First Half (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

  • Roy Williams was pleased with his team?s intensity, but the ball boys could?ve used a little more initiative. At one point in the first half, Williams walked out on the court to personally wipe up a wet spot to the loudest cheers of the night. It?s hard to tell whether he was sending a message to the ball boys (for being slow to action) or to the Texas players (who seemed to be stalling the game by finding wet spots). Regardless, it got the Dean Dome fired up.
  • J?Covan Brown isn?t Jordan Hamilton. Hamilton was a guy who could (and did) take over games pretty much singlehandedly, dictating that the offense be ran through him. Brown is much more susceptible to disappearing on the offensive end, as he?s much more of a shooter. Maybe it was just North Carolina?s interior length that kept him shooting on the perimeter, but Brown really struggled getting inside for most of the game. It will be interesting to see how his production changes as teams get more and more tape on him in conference play.

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Source: http://rushthecourt.net/2011/12/22/three-thoughts-each-on-north-carolinas-domination-of-texas/

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Source: http://androidcommunity.com/forums/f8/watch-live-west-virginia-tech-vs-marshall-online-stream-usa-ncaa-basketbal-81496-new/

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Adele 'Someone Like You': Stunning Cover By Young Actor (WATCH)

No, it is not Justin Bieber you see in the above video, but you might recognize the adorable young singer -- Tony Oller -- from Teen TV shows such as Gigantic and As The Bell Rings. Even more recognizable? The blonde-haired, dough-eyed actor playing his girlfriend-stealing friend: Lucas Till, from X-Men: First Class and Hannah Montana: The Movie.

With all the Adele covers popping up on YouTube lately, this might be one of the best versions of the song we've heard yet. What do you think? Sound off in the comments below or tweet us your thoughts @huffposthigh.

Quick Poll

Which 'Someone Like You' do you like best?

Share your vote on Facebook so your friends can take this poll

'; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/22/adele-someone-like-you-st_n_1166692.html

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"X Factor" shakeup? Rumors fly about host's exit (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? "X Factor" host Steve Jones' representative says a report that he will be cut from the show is "a fabrication" and that there have been no talks about his exit.

The British newspaper the Daily Mirror reports that Fox plans to rejigger the show by not renewing Jones' contract. It quoted an anonymous source who said, "He got terrible reviews from critics when he started and things haven't got better," and that he is all but certain to be gone from the show next season.

"The Mirror story is a fabrication that we would have corrected had we been called for comment," Jones' publicist said in a statement to TheWrap. "There have been absolutely no conversations about Steve Jones leaving 'The X Factor.' Steve is very happy with the outcome of this season and he looks forward to being back and discovering more talent in the new year."

A Fox rep, meanwhile, tells TheWrap the network has no comment on Jones' status with "The X Factor," and a representative for Cowell's Syco Entertainment called the Mirror story "pure speculation."

Judge Nicole Scherzinger, the Pussycat Dolls singer who herself was discovered via the reality TV talent search series "Popstars," has also drawn many negative reviews. When asked during an "X Factor" news conference on Monday about whether she would return for season two, Scherzinger declined to make a definitive statement.

"For me, what's important is to live in the moment. I need to get ("X Factor" finalist) Josh (Krajcik) coming out swinging and feeling amazing this week and to make sure I finish my job," Scherzinger said. "I've put my heart and my soul and passion...I put a thousand percent into this year. So, I'm just going to focus on making sure I do a really good job with Josh here this week and only God knows what will happen next year."

The questions about who will return next season come just before Thursday's finale of a season that fell short of creator Simon Cowell's expectations for it. He told critics last summer that he wanted the show to score 20 million viewers, but it has failed to climb from the roughly 12.49 million viewers who watched its September launch.

While the show has stirred buzz for certain episodes -- most notably the December 8 live results show when teen contender Rachel Crow unexpectedly got the boot -- "X Factor" viewership has fallen to as few as 8.51 million -- still an enviable number, but one well off of Cowell's goal.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111220/tv_nm/us_xfactor

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Monday, December 19, 2011

'Bama offense quiet as No. 23 Tide fall to K-State (AP)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ? Anthony Grant doesn't care whether Alabama scores 50 points or 100, so long as it's one more than the Crimson Tide's opponent.

The problem lately is that hasn't been the case.

JaMychal Green had 20 points and Trevor Releford added 14 points and six assists, but they got little help in a 71-58 loss to Kansas State on Saturday night. It was the third loss in four games for No. 23 Alabama, and the fourth straight in which it has failed to eclipse 62 points.

"We come into games trying to win. It's never about how many points we score," Grant said. "When I look at the numbers, 18 turnovers, (Kansas State shoots) 63 percent from the field in the second half, that makes it very difficult to win."

Jordan Henriquez scored a career-high 17 points, Jamar Samuels had 14 and Angel Rodriguez added a career-best 13 for the Wildcats (7-1), who used a 19-6 run midway through the second half to avoid going to overtime for the third consecutive game.

Kansas State lost to West Virginia in two extra sessions last week and needed overtime to beat North Florida last Sunday.

"It takes a little time. It's not a perfect science," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. "You've got young guys trying to learn how to play in college basketball. You've got guys trying to figure out their roles. It takes time. It's not as easy as it sounds."

Grant is certainly finding that out.

Alabama (8-3) is one of the nation's best defensive teams, and that was on display early against Kansas State. The Wildcats were 2 of 18 from the field and fell behind by seven points before finally hitting their stride. Once they did, the Crimson Tide simply couldn't keep up.

Releford grew up in suburban Kansas City and attended Bishop Miege High School. His homecoming would have been much more memorable had Alabama been as stingy over the final 30 minutes as it was over the first 10.

Or had the offense been able to score enough.

"Kansas State played a good game," Releford said. "They got the hustle plays in the second half, shot the ball a little bit better and that's what it took to win."

The Wildcats were still clinging to a 38-37 lead with just more than 13 minutes left when Samuels hit a 3-pointer off a feed from Rodriguez, one of his career-best seven assists. Shane Southwell scored moments later, Samuels added a pair of free throws and Rodriguez scored after a nifty behind-the-back move that got him open in the lane to make it 49-39 with less than 10 minutes to play.

The lead swelled to 61-45 when Henriquez scored back-to-back baskets and Thomas Gipson added a tough bucket in the paint. The Crimson Tide never got close the rest of the way.

Kansas State sealed the game with free throws down the stretch.

The game matched a pair of head coaches in Grant and Martin who were teammates at Miami (Fla.) Senior High School, where they met as sophomores. In fact, Grant is the godfather of Martin's eldest child, Brandon, and they remain good friends.

That doesn't mean they wanted to win any less than usual.

Both coaches spent the majority of the game riding the officials, riding their own players ? more or less yelling at anyone within earshot ? and coaching with the passion of March in mid-December.

Alabama, one of the nation's best defensive teams, held the Wildcats to two field goals over the first 10 minutes, slowly building a meager lead. Tony Mitchell's first basket with 9:08 left in the half made it 15-8, the Crimson Tide's biggest lead of the game.

The Wildcats still trailed 17-12 with less than 5 minutes left when Martavious Irving scored and Rodriguez fed Henriquez for an easy dunk, starting a 14-7 run to end the half. Henriquez's bucket with 18 seconds remaining allowed Kansas State to take a 26-24 lead into the break.

The game was being played at a pace that favored Grant's Crimson Tide, who came in allowing just more than 55 points per game ? 11th-best in the nation. But the Wildcats heated up in the second half, blowing past that number with 7 1/2 minutes left.

"We might not be perfect," Martin said, "but we're not taking a backseat to anybody either."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111218/ap_on_sp_co_ga_su/bkc_t25_alabama

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Congo opposition leader declares himself winner

(AP) ? Congo's opposition leader has declared himself winner of the presidential vote, despite placing second in official election results.

The country's supreme court upheld incumbent President Joseph Kabila's victory a little over a week ago, even after international observers expressed concerns about irregularities.

Etienne Tshisekedi said Sunday at a news conference at his home that Kabila's government "is dismissed starting today."

"I consider myself from this time forward as the president elected by the Congolese people of the Democratic Republic of Congo," Tshisekedi said. "I urge you to remain calm and serene, and to create the climate that the foreign investors need."

Government spokesman Lambert Mende said he had no comment on Tshisekedi's declaration. Tshisekedi has previously proclaimed himself president and last month ordered his followers to stage jailbreaks to free detained colleagues. Mende then called Tshisekedi's statements possible treason and criminal.

Kabila first came to power after his father's assassination and now has led the massive, mineral-rich Central African nation for a decade. Presidential election results showed Kabila with 49 percent, and Tshisekedi with 32 percent of the nearly 19 million votes cast. Some international observers, however, have said the turnout was impossibly high in some districts.

Observers fear unrest if Tshisekedi ? a 79-year-old longtime opposition leader who is enormously popular with the country's impoverished masses ? orders his supporters to take to the streets.

The November election was only the second democratic vote in Congo's 51-year history, and the first to be organized by the Congolese government rather than by the international community.

Congo, which is sub-Saharan Africa's largest country, has suffered decades of dictatorship and civil war. The country's east is still wracked by violence from a myriad of militias and rebel groups.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-18-AF-Congo-Election/id-529bf131ea7948f5b73cd993d4be1f11

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Tom Matzzie: You Ended the War in Iraq

Today the war in Iraq is ending. After nearly nine years our long national nightmare in Iraq is almost over. This day may not have come were it not for the years of work by all of the millions of Americans who volunteered, protested, lobbied, organized, donated, wept, prayed and voted for an end to this war. The American people have ended the war in Iraq through our democracy's flawed but still great ability to correct itself.

The movement to stop the war started before the war began. Those were grim times for dissension in America in 2002 only a short time after the horrible tragedy of September 11th. The people who stood up to voice their opposition were doing so out of courage and commitment. Many had their patriotism or character smeared in newspapers, on TV and in the halls of Congress. The adage that "patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel," resonates through the Iraq war.

And from those humble beginnings the movement to end the war grew over several years to become a chorus of millions who changed the political landscape and kept fighting until all of our troops came home. The anti-war movement became the anti-war public. By my last count, more than 50 members of Congress and senators lost their jobs in 2006 and 2008 to an anti-war opponent.

Along the way this movement organized hundreds of thousands of people at vigils, protests, marches, sit-ins and more. Tens of thousands of American were politicized -- learning their organizing skills while opposing the war. The movement built its own apparatus for politics, media, messaging and organizing.

This is the same movement that elected a president who opposed the start of the war and promised to end the war. This week President Obama has kept his promise to end the war in Iraq. He did not do it alone -- the movement that mobilized the public was at his side.

I don't praise the president as an act of partisan loyalty. There is plenty more for progressives to demand from this administration. But with the weight of foreign policy elites and establishment opinion pushing the president to stay in Iraq indefinitely, President Obama rejected a permanent occupation. As we saw over the last several weeks, Republican presidential candidates would prefer we stayed in Iraq forever.

There have already been voluminous tomes written about the war in Iraq, the occupation and George W. Bush. America was lied to by the Bush administration and when the lies were exposed they tried to rewrite history with more lies. But in the end the anti-war public rejected Bush and the lies.

That movement to end the war offers us important lessons we must never forget. Here are just a few.

  • Always, always work to prevent wars. War is an absolutely horrible thing. More than 4,500 Americans were killed in Iraq. And probably tens if not hundreds of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives. The financial costs of the war will run into the trillions of dollars when all the expenses of deserved care for veterans is accounted for in coming decades. The loss of prestige for the United States and our values cannot be underestimated even as it is under repair.
  • Question the media. The American media has still not re-proven itself a worthy trustee of our democracy. The mainstream media's failure in the lead up to the war was as comparable a scandal as the Bush administration's mendacity. The Washington Post probably wrote more editorials in favor of war than any other publication. The Post was dead wrong and yet somehow they're considered thoughtful on foreign policy at cocktail parties in Washington, DC. But at the same time, in the media's failure a whole new generation of muckrakers and journalists has risen from The Huffington Post to Talking Points Memo to advocacy blogs like ThinkProgress, AMERICABlog, DailyKos, FireDogLake and others. That is a good thing.
  • Don't listen to those who got it wrong. It is still stunning to see unrepentant supporters of the war considered thoughtful contributors to foreign policy conversations and a reminder of how dangerous American militarism is still. In Washington, DC foreign policy circles we basically invite people who think the world is flat to run NASA. How is it that columnists like Charles Krauthammer still have a newspaper column after he deceived the American people for years? The contempt by establishment elites for the American public has never been more obvious than during the Iraq war. When the public wanted to end the war, these elites wanted to stay. There is still a reckoning that must be accounted for in this area.
  • Hold politicians accountable. While the media and elites can be obnoxious, in the end elected politicians make policy. Involvement in politics must be a central strategy of opponents of wars. This includes involvement in both parties and involvement in both primaries and general elections. There is no doubt in my mind that the primary challenge to pro-war Democrat Joe Lieberman in 2006 helped inspire an entire movement to throw war-mongering politicians out of office later that year and again in 2008. Even that short-lived win in the primary helped people believe in their own power and sent a message to voters that it was OK to vote anti-war.
  • Remember the power that a movement has. Our greatest strength is that in the end the movement that ended the war was independent, strong and very active. That movement has a deep and broad connection to the American people. By the height of the war's violence in 2007 there was an anti-war organizing group in most American towns and large groups in the cities. While the institutions of the peace movement are under-funded, the independent grassroots is bigger and stronger than any other group in politics.

America is weary of war and this war has been a psychic trauma on the United States that has shaken core beliefs of many. Now that it is over we must work to end other wars and start nation building here at home.

I started my anti-war activism as a volunteer. Eventually with MoveOn.org I helped organize to end the war focusing on accountability for politicians who supported the war. There are so many people that I worked with over the years who I hope will feel some amount of pride in their work to end the war -- it worked. As these things go, that work will soon be forgotten by history but the fact that millions of Americans joined together for change will not be forgotten. In the end, you ended the war in Iraq.

?

Follow Tom Matzzie on Twitter: www.twitter.com/tommatzzie

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-matzzie/you-ended-the-war-in-iraq_b_1151727.html

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

SOPA Delayed ? But Not For Long

protect_ip_21The extremely unpopular SOPA bill was supposed to be the last order of business today as the House Judiciary Committee prepared to break for the holidays, but a parade of objections and amendments (over 50) kept the bill in discussion and at last the committee adjourned without resolving the issues. What was expected in this contingency was for the committee to resume work whenever the House reconvenes in January. After all, with such controversial and far-reaching legislation, it is better to take one's time. But no: the committee has announced it will continue markup this coming Wednesday, the 21st of December.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/4MZSQvYfB0c/

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First Gulf of Mexico oil & gas lease sale since oil spill generates millions

wwltv.com

Posted on December 14, 2011 at 5:42 PM

Updated today at 5:42 PM

Maya Rodriguez / Eyewitness News

NEW ORLEANS -- For the first time since the BP oil spill, the federal government held a Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease auction in New Orleans on Wednesday. It came on the same day as an announcement on the first phase of oil spill restoration projects.

At P&J Oyster Company in the French Quarter, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar learned the fine art of shucking oysters, just minutes after announcing a major oyster restoration project for Louisiana.

"We need to make sure that we move forward with the restoration of the Gulf of Mexico in a way that supports the oyster industry and its future," Salazar said.

It is an industry spanning five generations of Al Sunseri's family at P&J. A year and half later, the oil spill is still a part of their lives.

"We're a week before Christmas now and this place would normally be filled with people, lots of noise, processing oysters. It's not been the same," Sunseri said.

Change could be on the horizon, though. Louisiana is now one of the four Gulf states slated for early coastal restoration projects, pending public comment.

Two Louisiana projects take up about half of the initial $57 million. The first is a $13 million plan to restore the 555 acres of marsh in Lake Hermitage, on the west bank of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish.

The second project calls for nearly $15 million to plant oyster cultch in five southeast Louisiana parishes: Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Jefferson, Lafourche and Terrebonne.

"An oyster takes two, three years to grow to marketable size, so it's appropriate that this is the first thing that we're doing, the first project we're doing," said Garret Graves of the state's Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority.

At the same time the restoration projects were unveiled, Salazar announced the results of a major oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico -- the first since the oil spill.

The total for all of the winning bids: $337 million.

During a news conference, Salazar addressed critics of the Obama administration's handling of the oil and gas industry.

"We have lived through what was one of the most significant national crises that we have faced in the last century," Salazar said. "We have stood the oil and gas industry back up here in the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf is back to work."

Also on Wednesday, the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council released an independent report, which focused on the lessons learned from the oil spill. The report made multiple recommendations, including calling for a redesign of blowout preventers.

To see the report in its entirety, click here.

?

Source: http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/First-Gulf-of-Mexico-oil--gas-lease-sale-since-oil-spill-generates-millions-135621013.html

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Friday, December 16, 2011

Let's do the twist: Spiral proteins are efficient gene delivery agents

Let's do the twist: Spiral proteins are efficient gene delivery agents [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 15-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Liz Ahlberg
eahlberg@illinois.edu
217-244-1073
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Clinical gene therapy may be one step closer, thanks to a new twist on an old class of molecules.

A group of University of Illinois researchers, led by professors Jianjun Cheng and Fei Wang, have demonstrated that short spiral-shaped proteins can efficiently deliver DNA segments to cells. The team published its work in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

"The main idea is these are new materials that could potentially be used for clinical gene therapy," said Cheng, a professor of materials science and engineering, of chemistry and of bioengineering.

Researchers have been exploring two main pathways for gene delivery: modified viruses and nonviral agents such as synthetic polymers or lipids. The challenge has been to address both toxicity and efficiency. Polypeptides, or short protein chains, are attractive materials because they are biocompatible, fine-tunable and small.

"There are very good in vitrotransfection agents available, but we cannot use them in vivo because of their toxicity or because some of the complexes are too large," Cheng said. "Using our polypeptides, we can control the size down to the 200 nanometer range, which makes it a very interesting delivery system for in vivo applications."

A polypeptide called poly-L-lysine (PLL) was an early contender in gene delivery studies. PLL has positively charged side chains molecular structures that stem from each amino acid link in the polypeptide chain so it is soluble in the watery cellular environment.

However, PLL gradually fell into disuse because of its limited ability to deliver genes to the inside of cells, a process called transfection, and its high toxicity. Cheng postulated that PLL's low efficiency could be a function of its globular shape, as polypeptides with charged side chains tend to adopt a random coil structure, instead of a more orderly spiral helix.

"We never studied the connections of conformation with transfection efficiency, because we were never able to synthetically make materials containing both cationic charge and a high percentage of helical structures," Cheng said. "This paper demonstrated for the first time that helicity has a huge impact on transfection efficiencies."

Earlier this year, Cheng's group developed a method of making helical polypeptides with positively charged side chains. To test whether a helical polypeptide could be an efficient gene delivery agent, the group assembled a library of 31 helical polypeptides that are stable over a broad pH range and can bond to DNA for delivery. Most of them outperformed PLL and a few outstripped a leading commercial agent called polyethyleneimine (PEI), notorious for its toxicity although it is highly efficient. The helical molecules even worked on some of the hardest cells to transfect: stem cells and fibroblast cells.

"People kind of gave up on polypeptide-based materials for gene deliveries because PLL had low efficiency and high toxicity," Cheng said. "The polypeptide that we designed, synthesized and used in this study has very high efficiency and also well-controlled toxicities. With a modified helical polypeptide, we demonstrated that we can outperform many commercial agents."

The polypeptides Cheng and his co-workers developed can adopt helical shapes because the side chains are longer, so that the positive charges do not interfere with the protein's winding. The positive charges readily bind to negatively charged DNA, forming complexes that are internalized into cellular compartments called endosomes. The helical structures rupture the endosomal membranes, letting the DNA escape into the cell.

To confirm that the spiral polypeptide shape is the key to transfection, the researchers then synthesized two batches of the most efficient polypeptide: one batch with a helical shape, one with the usual random coil. The helical polypeptide far exceeded the random-coil polypeptide in both efficiency and stability.

"This demonstrates that the helicity is very important, because the polymer has exactly the same chemical makeup; the only difference is the structure," said Cheng, who also is associated with the Institute for Genomic Biology and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, both at the U. of I.

Next, the researchers plan to further explore their helical polypeptides' properties, especially their cell-penetrating abilities. They hope to control sequence and structure with precision for specific applications, including gene delivery, drug delivery, cell-membrane penetration and antimicrobial action.

###

The National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health supported this work. Fei Wang is a professor of cell and development biology and of bioengineering. Postdoctoral researchers Nathan Gabrielson, Lichen Yin and Dong Li and graduate student Hua Lu were co-authors of the paper.

Editor's note: To contact Jianjun Cheng, call 217-244-3924; email jianjunc@illinois.edu.

The paper, "Reactive and Bioactive Cationic ?-Helical Polypeptide Template for Nonviral Gene Delivery," is available online.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


Let's do the twist: Spiral proteins are efficient gene delivery agents [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 15-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Liz Ahlberg
eahlberg@illinois.edu
217-244-1073
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Clinical gene therapy may be one step closer, thanks to a new twist on an old class of molecules.

A group of University of Illinois researchers, led by professors Jianjun Cheng and Fei Wang, have demonstrated that short spiral-shaped proteins can efficiently deliver DNA segments to cells. The team published its work in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

"The main idea is these are new materials that could potentially be used for clinical gene therapy," said Cheng, a professor of materials science and engineering, of chemistry and of bioengineering.

Researchers have been exploring two main pathways for gene delivery: modified viruses and nonviral agents such as synthetic polymers or lipids. The challenge has been to address both toxicity and efficiency. Polypeptides, or short protein chains, are attractive materials because they are biocompatible, fine-tunable and small.

"There are very good in vitrotransfection agents available, but we cannot use them in vivo because of their toxicity or because some of the complexes are too large," Cheng said. "Using our polypeptides, we can control the size down to the 200 nanometer range, which makes it a very interesting delivery system for in vivo applications."

A polypeptide called poly-L-lysine (PLL) was an early contender in gene delivery studies. PLL has positively charged side chains molecular structures that stem from each amino acid link in the polypeptide chain so it is soluble in the watery cellular environment.

However, PLL gradually fell into disuse because of its limited ability to deliver genes to the inside of cells, a process called transfection, and its high toxicity. Cheng postulated that PLL's low efficiency could be a function of its globular shape, as polypeptides with charged side chains tend to adopt a random coil structure, instead of a more orderly spiral helix.

"We never studied the connections of conformation with transfection efficiency, because we were never able to synthetically make materials containing both cationic charge and a high percentage of helical structures," Cheng said. "This paper demonstrated for the first time that helicity has a huge impact on transfection efficiencies."

Earlier this year, Cheng's group developed a method of making helical polypeptides with positively charged side chains. To test whether a helical polypeptide could be an efficient gene delivery agent, the group assembled a library of 31 helical polypeptides that are stable over a broad pH range and can bond to DNA for delivery. Most of them outperformed PLL and a few outstripped a leading commercial agent called polyethyleneimine (PEI), notorious for its toxicity although it is highly efficient. The helical molecules even worked on some of the hardest cells to transfect: stem cells and fibroblast cells.

"People kind of gave up on polypeptide-based materials for gene deliveries because PLL had low efficiency and high toxicity," Cheng said. "The polypeptide that we designed, synthesized and used in this study has very high efficiency and also well-controlled toxicities. With a modified helical polypeptide, we demonstrated that we can outperform many commercial agents."

The polypeptides Cheng and his co-workers developed can adopt helical shapes because the side chains are longer, so that the positive charges do not interfere with the protein's winding. The positive charges readily bind to negatively charged DNA, forming complexes that are internalized into cellular compartments called endosomes. The helical structures rupture the endosomal membranes, letting the DNA escape into the cell.

To confirm that the spiral polypeptide shape is the key to transfection, the researchers then synthesized two batches of the most efficient polypeptide: one batch with a helical shape, one with the usual random coil. The helical polypeptide far exceeded the random-coil polypeptide in both efficiency and stability.

"This demonstrates that the helicity is very important, because the polymer has exactly the same chemical makeup; the only difference is the structure," said Cheng, who also is associated with the Institute for Genomic Biology and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, both at the U. of I.

Next, the researchers plan to further explore their helical polypeptides' properties, especially their cell-penetrating abilities. They hope to control sequence and structure with precision for specific applications, including gene delivery, drug delivery, cell-membrane penetration and antimicrobial action.

###

The National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health supported this work. Fei Wang is a professor of cell and development biology and of bioengineering. Postdoctoral researchers Nathan Gabrielson, Lichen Yin and Dong Li and graduate student Hua Lu were co-authors of the paper.

Editor's note: To contact Jianjun Cheng, call 217-244-3924; email jianjunc@illinois.edu.

The paper, "Reactive and Bioactive Cationic ?-Helical Polypeptide Template for Nonviral Gene Delivery," is available online.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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/uoia-ldt121511.php

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