iTunes in the Cloud looks to be hitting more of Europe with TV series, films

While stateside users might complain that we get all the good stuff in Europe first, Apple's iTunes in the Cloud for movies and TV shows has finally got around to rolling in to France and other parts of Europe, eons after it came out in the US. We confirmed that the new functionality works in France, which lets you buy films and TV shows from a computer, Apple TV or iOS device, then download it for free from the cloud on another. Others have reported by Twitter that it's working in Holland and Sweden as well, making it the first big move for the service since it rolled into the UK, Australia and Canada last summer. Until now, users in those nations were only able to download books, apps and music purchased in iTunes from the cloud. There's still no word from Apple about the move, however, and the list of supported countries hasn't been updated for those features -- so we'll enjoy it for now and hope Cupertino doesn't change its mind.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, Apple

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/CemiZA10SDs/

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Kerry says U.S. seeks faster Syria political transition

PARIS (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that the United States hoped to find ways to speed up a political transition in Syria and would discuss ideas at a Friends of Syria meeting in Rome on Friday.

"We are examining and developing ways to accelerate the transition the Syrian people seek and deserve," Kerry told a news conference with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius in Paris before travelling on to Rome.

The Washington Post has reported that the White House was considering a shift in policy toward the nearly two-year-long conflict in Syria, and may send the rebels body armour and armed vehicles, and possibly provide military training. According to the report, U.S. officials still oppose providing arms.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Alexandria Sage; Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-says-u-seeks-faster-syria-political-transition-133925072.html

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Higher indoor humidity inactivates flu virus particles

Feb. 27, 2013 ? Higher humidity levels indoors can significantly reduce the infectivity of influenza virus particles released by coughing, according to research published February 27 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by John Noti and colleagues from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers tested the effect of relative humidity on the capacity of flu virus released in a simulated 'cough' to re-infect cells.

They found that an hour after being released in a room at a relative humidity of 23% or less, 70-77% of viral particles retained their infectious capacity, but when humidity was increased to about 43%, only 14% of the virus particles were capable of infecting cells.

Most of this inactivation occurred within the first fifteen minutes of the viral particles being released in the high-humidity condition. The study concludes that maintaining indoor relative humidity at levels greater than 40% can significantly reduce the infectious capacity of aerosolized flu virus.

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Journal Reference:

1. John D. Noti, Francoise M. Blachere, Cynthia M. McMillen, William G. Lindsley, Michael L. Kashon, Denzil R. Slaughter, Donald H. Beezhold. High Humidity Leads to Loss of Infectious Influenza Virus from Simulated Coughs. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (2): e57485 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057485

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/sNX-ZAws_4Q/130227183456.htm

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Stock futures little changed as market awaits Bernanke, data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors awaited a second round of testimony in Congress by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for signs of whether the Fed will continue its economic stimulus program.

Economic data was also in focus with U.S. durables goods and homes data due out at 8:30 a.m. ET (1330) GMT and 10:00 a.m. ET (1500 GMT), respectively.

Bernanke will make his second appearance before the Financial Services Committee at 10:00 a.m. ET (1500 GMT).

"Of course, Bernanke is in the spotlight again but I don't expect him to vary from his comments from yesterday," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York.

A day earlier, Bernanke strongly defended the Fed's monetary stimulus efforts before Congress, easing financial market worries over an early retreat from the Fed's bond buying program, which had been triggered by minutes of the Fed's January meeting released a week ago.

His remarks, along with data showing sales of new homes hit a 4 1/2-year high, helped U.S. stocks rebound Tuesday from their worst decline since November.

Despite the bounce, the S&P 500 was unable to move back above 1,500, a closely watched level that had been technical support until recently, but may now prove a resistance point.

The benchmark S&P 500, up 6 percent for the year, was within reach of record highs a week ago before the minutes from the Fed's January meeting were released. Since then, the index has shed 1 percent as the minutes raised questions about the longevity of the Fed's economy-stimulating measures.

S&P 500 futures rose 2.1 points and were in line with fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 1 points while Nasdaq 100 futures added 4 points.

In earnings news, Target Corp posted a lower quarterly profit as sales of food and value-priced items only partially mitigated weakness in holiday spending. The stock fell 1.7 percent to $62.99 in premarket trading.

Dollar Tree Inc reported a higher quarterly profit as the chain controlled costs and as consumer spending improved. The stock rose 4.5 percent to $42.91 in premarket trading.

In Europe, shares rose, steadying after the previous session's sharp losses, though jitters over the euro zone kept a lid on gains.

Italy's 10-year debt costs rose more than half a percentage point at the first longer-term auction since an inconclusive parliamentary election, although they remained below the psychologically important level of 5 percent.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-index-futures-signal-mixed-open-103038684--finance.html

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John Kerry busts out his French-speaking skills

Secretary of State John Kerry busted out a bit of the language of Moli?re and G?rard Depardieu on Wednesday as he met in Paris with his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius. How?d he do?

Pas mal du tout, Monsieur Kerry. Not bad at all.

The Democratic former senator from Massachusetts learned French while attending a boarding school in Switzerland starting when he was 11. And he spent many childhood summers in the Atlantic coast region of Brittany with French relatives.

Those days are long gone?but while Kerry seemed a bit rusty, his opening remarks at a joint press conference with the French foreign minister sounded pretty solid to this native speaker (he starts at 4:51 in the video above, and a transcript is at the bottom of this post). And he poured on the charm to please his audience.

?We?ve just finished one of those wonderful French lunches that have never ceased drawing Americans to Paris for centuries,? he said, seemingly reading from notes or prepared remarks. And he also joked about anti-French sentiment in the United States. ?And now I?ll speak in English because otherwise they won?t let me return home.?

Kerry?s gesture thrilled the French, who appreciate it when visiting dignitaries make an effort to speak their hosts? language. Fabius, the French foreign minister, celebrated Franco-American cooperation on a range of foreign policy struggles like the bloodbath in Syria and Iran?s nuclear program?and hailed Kerry as ?someone who is known to be a friend of France? (?quelqu?un qui est connu pour ?tre un ami de la France?).

It was just a couple of weeks ago that the newly minted secretary of state, meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, had declined a reporter?s request for ?a little bit of French, please, maybe?? (?un peu de Fran?ais, s?il vous plait, peut-etre?? she asked).

?Not today?I?ve got to refresh myself on that,? Kerry said, drawing chuckles from his audience.

The French question is a vexing one for Kerry. During the 2004 presidential campaign, The New York Times raised eyebrows by granting anonymity to a ?Bush adviser? who wanted to snipe from behind cover that the Democratic candidate ?looks French.? That cheap shot, apparently code for ?elitist,? caught fire in the media, stoked by perennial anti-French sentiment and still-fresh frustration that the government in Paris opposed the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. It was the era of renaming ?French fries? as ?Freedom Fries? in the congressional cafeteria (the French consider fries Belgian) and calling the ?French kiss? something more acceptable to American audiences, ?The Patriot Act.? (OK, that last one was, ahem, tongue in cheek.)

Times have changed. Somewhat. Throughout the 2012 campaign, Mitt Romney unhesitatingly spoke French to people he met on the trail (and he took crap for it?even from Democrats). Romney, who learned French when he lived in France as a Mormon missionary, does really well on his feet, has good sentence structure and, like Kerry, his mild accent doesn?t make him hard to understand.

Does any of this matter? Peut-?tre (maybe). Diplomacy is often a language of symbolism and nuances, after all.

And an old story, handed down by foreign language professors, may illustrate another usefulness.

The story goes that, in the early computer era, the CIA spent a fortune on a device that could translate intercepted messages. The chairman of the congressional committee that funded the project, on a tour, was invited to submit a phrase that would be translated from English, into French, then into German, then into Russian, then into Chinese, and then back into English. The lawmaker thought a moment, then suggested ?out of sight, out of mind.?

The machine clacked and whirred and spat out a strip of paper. On it was the result: ?Invisible. Insane.?

Kerry's remarks in French:

"Merci beaucoup, Monsieur le Ministre. Vraiment, c?est chaleureux, et je vous remercie beaucoup pour votre accueil aujourd?hui. C?est un tr?s grand plaisir pour moi d??tre en companie du ministre des affaires ?trang?res, Fabius. Nous venons de conclure un de ces merveilleux d?jeuners fran?ais qui n?ont cess? d?attirer les Am?ricains ? Paris depuis des si?cles. Bien entendu, c?est un privil?ge de pouvoir partager tout repas avec Laurent. Il est un ami de confiance, un alli? fid?le et un partenaire appr?ci?, et je veux ? je le remercie pour tout ?a. La France, comme vous savez, est vraiment ? c?est le plus ancien des alli?s des Etats-Unis. On vous remercie pour ?a aussi. Et maintenant je parle en anglais parce qu?autrement on me laisse pas rentrer chez moi."

Translation:

"Thank you very much, Mister Minister. Really, that was [a] warm [welcome], and I thank you very much for your welcome today. It?s a great pleasure for me to be here with the minister of foreign affairs, Fabius. We just finished one of those wonderful French lunches that have never ceased drawing Americans to Paris for centuries. Of course, it?s a privilege to share any meal with Laurent. He is a trusted friend, a faithful ally, and a valued partner. and I want to thank him for all of that. France, as you know, is really?it's the oldest ally of the United States, so we would like to thank you for that, too. And now I'll speak in English, because otherwise they won?t let me return home.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/john-kerry-french-pas-mauvais-not-bad-190702655--politics.html

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Switzerland: Shooting At Wood-Processing Plant Leaves Several Dead, Police Say

MENZNAU, Switzerland -- A longtime employee opened fire at a wood-processing company in central Switzerland on Wednesday, leaving three people dead including the assailant, police said.

A further seven people were wounded, six of them seriously, in the shooting at the premises of Kronospan, in the small town of Menznau, Lucerne criminal police chief Daniel Bussmann said.

Bussmann told a news conference in Menznau that the man was 42 years old, Swiss newspaper Blick reported on its website. Both the suspected shooter and the victims were Swiss.

He said the man arrived at the premises shortly after 9 a.m., drew a pistol and started firing at people. Officials didn't immediately have further details on the weapon or information on how the assailant was killed.

Kronospan Chief Executive Mauro Capozzo said that the suspected assailant had been "with us for more than 10 years ? a quiet man, no other incidents involving him are known."

According to the local town council, Kronospan has some 450 employees. There was no immediate word on a possible motive; Capozzo said the company hasn't laid anyone off recently.

Gun ownership is widespread in Switzerland, thanks to liberal regulation ? a 2011 referendum to tighten controls failed ? and a long-standing tradition for men to keep their military rifles after completing compulsory military service.

An estimated 2.3 million firearms are owned by the country's 8 million people.

But gun crime is relatively rare, with just 24 gun killings in 2009, which works out to a rate of about 0.3 per 100,000 inhabitants. The U.S. rate that year was about 11 times higher.

Still, there have been several high-profile incidents over the years, including the killing of 14 people at a city council meeting in Zug, not far from Lucerne, in 2001.

Last month a 33-year-old man killed three women and wounded two men in a southern Swiss village.

___

Moulson reported from Berlin. Frank Jordans in Berlin also contributed.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/switzerland-shooting_n_2772099.html

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Protest votes raise uncertainty in close Italy election

ROME (Reuters) - Polls in Italy opened for the second and final day of voting on Monday, with a surge in protest votes increasing fears of an unclear outcome that could hamper economic reforms.

"I'm sick of the scandals and the stealing," said Paolo Gentile, a 49-year-old lawyer from Rome who said he had voted for the 5-Star Movement, an anti-establishment group set to make a huge impact at this, its first general election.

"We need some young, new people in parliament, not the old parties that are totally discredited."

Opinion polls give the center-left coalition led by former Industry Minister Pier Luigi Bersani a narrow lead but the race has been thrown open by the prospect of a huge protest vote - most of it going to 5-Star - against austerity and a wave of corporate and political scandals.

A bitter campaign, fought largely over economic issues, has been closely watched by financial markets, still wary after the debt crisis that took the whole euro zone close to disaster and brought technocrat prime minister Mario Monti to office in 2011.

For the euro zone, the stakes are high. Italy is the third largest economy in the 17-member bloc and the prospect of political stalemate could reawaken the threat of dangerous market instability.

"There are similarities between the Italian elections and last year's ones in Greece, in that pro-euro parties are losing ground in favor of populist forces," said Mizuho chief economist Riccardo Barbieri.

"An angry and confused public opinion does not see the benefits of fiscal austerity and does not trust established political parties."

Voting ends at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT), with the first exit polls due shortly afterwards. Projections based on the vote count will be issued through the afternoon and the final result should be known late on Monday or early Tuesday.

Italian bond markets remained sanguine on Monday morning, quickly reversing modest early losses. Later on Monday Italy will offer 4.25 billion euros of bonds in a further test of market sentiment.

The result is likely to be the most fragmented in decades, with the old left-right division disrupted by the rise of 5-Star, led by comic Beppe Grillo, and by the decision by Monti to run at the head of a centrist bloc.

"It will be a vote of protest, maybe of revolt," said Corriere della Sera, Italy's largest newspaper, on Monday.

It is unclear how Grillo's rise will influence the result, with some pollsters saying it increases the chances of a clear win for the center-left, led by Bersani's Democratic Party (PD), because 5-Star is taking votes mainly from Berlusconi.

After the first day of voting on Sunday about 54 percent of voters had cast their ballots, a sharp fall on the level of 62.5 percent seen at the same stage in the last election in 2008.

Bad weather hampered the turnout in Italy's first post-war election to be held in winter.

The 5-Star Movement, backed by a frustrated younger generation increasingly shut out of full-time jobs, could challenge former premier Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party as Italy's second largest political force.

"Come on, it isn't over yet," was Monday's front page headline in Il Giornale daily, owned by Berlusconi's brother, a call to arms to voters not to give up.

The 76 year-old Berlusconi has pledged sweeping tax cuts and echoed Grillo's attacks on Monti, Germany and the euro in a media blitz that has halved the lead of the center-left since the start of the year.

Support for Monti's centrist coalition meanwhile has faded and he appears set to trail well behind the main parties.

SENATE RACE

Monti helped save Italy from a mounting debt crisis when he replaced a discredited Berlusconi in November 2011, but with the economy in its longest recession for 20 years analysts fear an electoral stalemate could spark renewed market pressure.

"I voted for the PD because a PD win is the only way to have a stable government and we need stability or we will end up like Greece," said Viola Rossi, an 80 year-old pensioner from Rome.

Whatever government emerges will inherit an economy that has been largely stagnant for much of the past two decades and problems ranging from record youth unemployment to a dysfunctional justice system and a bloated public sector.

The credibility of the political system has been hit by corruption scandals and criminal investigations affecting state-controlled defence group Finmeccanica and Italy's third-largest bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

If Bersani wins, it is far from clear that he will be able to control both houses of parliament and form a stable government capable of lasting a full five-year term.

Italy's electoral laws guarantee a strong majority in the lower house to the party or coalition that wins the biggest share of the overall national vote.

However the Senate, elected on a region-by-region basis, is more complicated and the result could turn on a handful of regions where results are too close to call, including Lombardy in the rich industrial north and the southern island of Sicily.

Many politicians and analysts believe Bersani and Monti will end up in an alliance after the vote, despite a number of spiky exchanges during the campaign and Monti's insistence that he will not join forces with Bersani's leftist allies.

For his part, Bersani, who has pledged to maintain the broad reform course set by Monti while doing more to help growth, says he would seek support from other parties and would be ready to offer the former European commissioner a job in his government.

(Additional reporting by Stefano Bernabei and Gavin Jones; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/protest-votes-add-uncertainty-close-italy-election-070325879.html

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Aptina unleashes 1080p and 4K mobile sensors, entire point-and-shoot segment cringes

Hear that? That's the sound of the entire point-and-shoot camera industry bracing for yet another blow. As smartphone cameras mature, it's becoming ever more difficult to convince consumers to use anything other than their phone outside of special occasions where ILCs or DSLRs are necessary. Aptina has a lot to do with that. Here at Mobile World Congress, the sensor outfit has announced its 12 megapixel and 13 megapixel mobile image sensors, aimed squarely at next-gen flagship phones that ought to be coming out in Q2 or Q3 this year. The smaller 1.1-micron pixel construction is the standout feature, with the AR1230 capable of capturing 4K video at 30fps as well as 1080p video at up to 96fps. The AR1330 throws in electronic image stabilization support at 1080p, while snagging 4K UHD and 4K Cinema formats at 30fps.

Over on the tablet PC / TV front, the AR0261 is a new 1080p-capable sensor that's destined to redefine what a front-facing camera can accomplish. It relies on a 1.4-micron pixel, and should have no issues capturing faces at up to 60fps when using its 720p mode. Furthermore, Aptina promises that this guy can work with applications involving gesture recognition and 3D video capture, but sadly, no OEMs are coming forward just yet with concrete plans to include it.

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Mobile, NVIDIA

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Source: Aptina

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/aptina-1080p-4k-mobile-sensors-smartphones/

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Koop, who transformed surgeon general post, dies

FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2002 file photo, former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop testifies in Concord, N.H. Koop, who raised the profile of the surgeon general by riveting America's attention on the then-emerging disease known as AIDS and by railing against smoking, has died in New Hampshire at age 96. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2002 file photo, former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop testifies in Concord, N.H. Koop, who raised the profile of the surgeon general by riveting America's attention on the then-emerging disease known as AIDS and by railing against smoking, has died in New Hampshire at age 96. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

FILE - In this May 12, 1997 file photo, former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop discusses the proposed increase of the New Hampshire cigarette tax at the governor's office in the Statehouse in Concord, H.H. Koop, who raised the profile of the surgeon general by riveting America's attention on the then-emerging disease known as AIDS and by railing against smoking, died Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, in Hanover, N.H. He was 96. (AP Photo/Andrew Sullivan, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 1993 file photo, former Surgeon Genera C. Everett Koop, left, sits with then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton during a meeting with more than 100 prominent doctors in the White House in Washington. Koop, who raised the profile of the surgeon general by riveting America's attention on the then-emerging disease known as AIDS and by railing against smoking, died Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, in Hanover, N.H. He was 96. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 29, 1991 file photo, former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop speaks in Washington during a conference for preventing transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis B Virus to patients during procedures by medical personal. Koop, who raised the profile of the surgeon general by riveting America's attention on the then-emerging disease known as AIDS and by railing against smoking, died Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, in Hanover, N.H. He was 96. (AP Photo/Barry Thumma, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 14, 1988 file photo, U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop speaks in Philadelphia. Koop, who raised the profile of the surgeon general by riveting America's attention on the then-emerging disease known as AIDS and by railing against smoking, died Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, in Hanover, N.H. He was 96. (AP Photo/Robert J. Gurecki, File)

With his striking beard and starched uniform, former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop became one of the most recognizable figures of the Reagan era ? and one of the most unexpectedly enduring.

His nomination in 1981 met a wall of opposition from women's groups and liberal politicians, who complained President Ronald Reagan selected Koop, a pediatric surgeon and evangelical Christian from Philadelphia, only because of his conservative views, especially his staunch opposition to abortion.

Soon, though, he was a hero to AIDS activists, who chanted "Koop, Koop" at his appearances but booed other officials. And when he left his post in 1989, he left behind a landscape where AIDS was a top research and educational priority, smoking was considered a public health hazard, and access to abortion remained largely intact.

Koop, who turned his once-obscure post into a bully pulpit for seven years during the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and who surprised both ends of the political spectrum by setting aside his conservative personal views on issues such as homosexuality and abortion to keep his focus sharply medical, died Monday at his home in Hanover, N.H. He was 96.

An assistant at Koop's Dartmouth College institute, Susan Wills, confirmed his death but didn't disclose its cause.

Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as surgeon general a decade ago under President George W. Bush, said Koop was a mentor to him and preached the importance of staying true to the science even if it made politicians uncomfortable.

"He set the bar high for all who followed in his footsteps," Carmona said.

Although the surgeon general has no real authority to set government policy, Koop described himself as "the health conscience of the country" and said modestly just before leaving his post that "my only influence was through moral suasion."

A former pipe smoker, Koop carried out a crusade to end smoking in the United States; his goal had been to do so by 2000. He said cigarettes were as addictive as heroin and cocaine. And he shocked his conservative supporters when he endorsed condoms and sex education to stop the spread of AIDS.

Chris Collins, a vice president of amFAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, said many people don't realize what an important role Koop played in the beginning of the AIDS epidemic.

"At the time, he really changed the national conversation, and he showed real courage in pursuing the duties of his job," Collins said.

Even after leaving office, Koop continued to promote public health causes, from preventing childhood accidents to better training for doctors.

"I will use the written word, the spoken word and whatever I can in the electronic media to deliver health messages to this country as long as people will listen," he promised.

In 1996, he rapped Republican presidential hopeful Bob Dole for suggesting that tobacco was not invariably addictive, saying Dole's comments "either exposed his abysmal lack of knowledge of nicotine addiction or his blind support of the tobacco industry."

Although Koop eventually won wide respect with his blend of old-fashioned values, pragmatism and empathy, his nomination met staunch opposition.

Foes noted that Koop traveled the country in 1979 and 1980 giving speeches that predicted a progression "from liberalized abortion to infanticide to passive euthanasia to active euthanasia, indeed to the very beginnings of the political climate that led to Auschwitz, Dachau and Belsen."

But Koop, a devout Presbyterian, was confirmed after he told a Senate panel he would not use the surgeon general's post to promote his religious ideology. He kept his word.

In 1986, he issued a frank report on AIDS, urging the use of condoms for "safe sex" and advocating sex education as early as third grade.

He also maneuvered around uncooperative Reagan administration officials in 1988 to send an educational AIDS pamphlet to more than 100 million U.S. households, the largest public health mailing ever.

Koop personally opposed homosexuality and believed sex should be saved for marriage. But he insisted that Americans, especially young people, must not die because they were deprived of explicit information about how HIV was transmitted.

Koop further angered conservatives by refusing to issue a report requested by the Reagan White House, saying he could not find enough scientific evidence to determine whether abortion has harmful psychological effects on women.

Koop maintained his personal opposition to abortion, however. After he left office, he told medical students it violated their Hippocratic oath. In 2009, he wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, urging that health care legislation include a provision to ensure doctors and medical students would not be forced to perform abortions. The letter briefly set off a security scare because it was hand delivered.

Koop served as chairman of the National Safe Kids Campaign and as an adviser to President Bill Clinton's health care reform plan.

At a congressional hearing in 2007, Koop spoke about political pressure on the surgeon general post. He said Reagan was pressed to fire him every day, but Reagan would not interfere.

Koop, worried that medicine had lost old-fashioned caring and personal relationships between doctors and patients, opened his institute at Dartmouth to teach medical students basic values and ethics. He also was a part-owner of a short-lived venture, drkoop.com, to provide consumer health care information via the Internet.

Koop was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, the only son of a Manhattan banker and the nephew of a doctor. He said by age 5 he knew he wanted to be a surgeon and at age 13 he practiced his skills on neighborhood cats.

He attended Dartmouth, where he received the nickname Chick, short for "chicken Koop." It stuck for life.

Koop received his medical degree at Cornell Medical College, choosing pediatric surgery because so few surgeons practiced it.

In 1938, he married Elizabeth Flanagan, the daughter of a Connecticut doctor. They had four children, one of whom died in a mountain climbing accident when he was 20.

Koop was appointed surgeon-in-chief at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia and served as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

He pioneered surgery on newborns and successfully separated three sets of conjoined twins. He won national acclaim by reconstructing the chest of a baby born with the heart outside the body.

Although raised as a Baptist, he was drawn to a Presbyterian church near the hospital, where he developed an abiding faith. He began praying at the bedside of his young patients ? ignoring the snickers of some of his colleagues.

Koop's wife died in 2007, and he married Cora Hogue in 2010.

He was by far the best-known surgeon general and for decades afterward was still a recognized personality.

"I was walking down the street with him one time" about five years ago, recalled Dr. George Wohlreich, director of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, a medical society with which Koop had longstanding ties. "People were yelling out, 'There goes Dr. Koop!' You'd have thought he was a rock star."

___

Ring reported from Montpelier, Vt. Cass reported from Washington. AP Medical Writers Lauran Neergaard in Washington and Mike Stobbe in New York contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-25-Obit-Koop/id-f20d0c4172e540a0a168a37bef6d07ee

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How to ask for a reference letter? | Wall Street Oasis

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Source: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/blog/how-to-ask-for-a-reference-letter

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First lady to press governors on veterans' jobs

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sits next to first lady Michelle Obama as President Barack Obama welcomed the governors of the National Governors Association to the 2013 Governors? Dinner at the White House in Washington, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sits next to first lady Michelle Obama as President Barack Obama welcomed the governors of the National Governors Association to the 2013 Governors? Dinner at the White House in Washington, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? First lady Michelle Obama will challenge governors to make it easier for military members to transfer their skills to civilian jobs.

Mrs. Obama wants states to pass legislation or take executive action allowing veterans to receive professional credentials or licenses based on their experiences in the military. Administration officials said that would allow veterans to apply for jobs more quickly rather than having to take courses for skills they already have.

Mrs. Obama will announce her proposals Monday during remarks to governors who are in Washington for their annual meeting. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will also address the governors during the event at the White House.

The veterans' initiatives are part of Mrs. Obama's "Joining Forces" program, which aims to help veterans and their families. The program has focused in particular on assisting military personnel find civilian jobs, an effort that is expected to take on more urgency as more than 60,000 U.S. troops return home from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

Mrs. Obama will ask states to focus in particular on making it easier for veterans to obtain credentials and licenses for commercial driving, nursing, and emergency medical services, administration officials said. The White House has outlined suggested legislative language states can use for implementing the changes.

Officials did not have an estimate for how much it would cost states to implement the credentialing programs. But they suggested the programs could eventually be a cost-saver by keeping veterans off unemployment.

Mrs. Obama has previously called on states to help military spouses transfer their state-specific credentials when their families move due to changes in deployment. Seventeen states have passed such legislation over the past year, joining 11 states that already had laws on the books.

The officials requested anonymity in order to speak ahead of Mrs. Obama's announcement.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-25-Michelle%20Obama-Veterans/id-d5f1ac08cdf8441daf29d56d8d1c98d8

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Te'o doesn't duck NFL media blitz

?

INDIANAPOLIS - The circus organs had finally stopped piping and the media tidal wave had receded.

An hour had passed Saturday since Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o walked off Podium C at the NFL scouting combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. And now Gil Brandt stood in a concourse trying to summarize the weekend's most anticipated interview.

Te'o had been under the spotlight for 14 minutes and 36 seconds, fielding 34 questions and trying to provide an honest if totally abbreviated update on his oh-so-peculiar 2013.

Brandt, once the vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys and now a senior analyst for the NFL's website, shrugged and gave a preliminary nod of approval.

"Handled himself incredibly well," Brandt said.

Pointed questions were fired Te'o's way about the now-infamous Lennay Kekua fake girlfriend hoax. Yet he navigated the session with grace.

His answers were direct. His sentiments seemed sincere.

"Once you do this head on," Brandt said, "hopefully you get it behind you and it's history. And before long, this can be about him as a football player again."

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A night earlier, as hundreds of combine participants were being fed at the nearby Crowne Plaza, Brandt made a point to seek out Te'o. He wanted to measure the linebacker's anxiety, to get a feel for his mindset, to offer a nuggets of advice.

Brandt sat with Te'o as he ate and told him it would be in his best interest to attack all the athletic testing and drills at the combine without reservation. Te'o said he planned to.

Brandt advised Te'o not to dodge the media.

Te'o never intended to.

"I'm like everybody else," Brandt said. "I want to know what the kid is made of. And I've been really impressed. He has great communication skills. He interacts so well."

So when it finally came time for Te'o to march into the teeth of an unprecedented combine media blitz, he climbed the podium steps and looked out at a swarm unlike any he'd seen.

"Pretty crazy," he said. "I've been in front of a few cameras. But never as many as this."

Not only had all 32 chairs set up in front of the podium been full for some time, but 43 TV cameras had also jockeyed for position, with another eye-opening overflow of reporters lined eight and nine bodies deep across the room, some climbing on top of chairs to get a view.

By most accounts, the interest dwarfed even that of Tim Tebow's 2010 appearance here.

Te'o was asked why he had been slow in speaking up after the story broke on the website Deadspin on Jan.?16 with bizarre revelations that his late girlfriend had not only never died of leukemia but wasn't a girl at all -- rather a social media creation by hoax perpetrator Ronaiah Tuiasosopo.

"It was just a whirlwind of stuff," Te'o explained. "For me, a 22-year-old, a 21-year-old at that time, you're just trying to get your thoughts right. Everything's kind of chaos for a little bit. So you let that chaos die down and wait until everybody's willing to listen."

For the past 5 1/2 weeks, Te'o admitted, he has found himself fighting past humiliation.

"You're walking through a grocery store," he said, "and you kind of give people double-takes to see if they're staring at you. It's definitely embarrassing."

?????

Over 15 minutes, the linebacker's mellow deportment seemed to calm the fascination in his plight.

Consider that a Te'o victory, as minor as it may be. Still, the media crush provides another variable for NFL general managers to consider.

Even if teams can find comfort that Te'o has been truthful about the hoax, even if they're sold he can be a difference-maker, they will have to wonder whether the media swarm Te'o will attract will become a nuisance.

It's not only the linebacker who will have to get used to that crush. Fifty-two other teammates will have to deal with its annoyances. And ask the Jets if there was any fatigue related to the media swarm that Tebow's arrival brought last season.

The Vikings will be one of those teams doing an exhaustive evaluation on Te'o. With the draft's 23rd pick and needs at middle linebacker, GM Rick Spielman will measure his Te'o intrigue across the board.

Can the kid play? Can he fit within the defensive scheme? Will he be a match for the brand of tough, disciplined and unselfish players head coach Leslie Frazier wants?

Those assessments should be fairly easy to complete.

Then, the Vikings will dig deeper into Te'o's background and the complex scandal that engulfed him, creating layers of confusion that still haven't been cleared up.

Said Spielman: "We know some things that have not been reported in the media. I'll say that."

?????

In a new phase of this college-to-NFL transition, Te'o not only answered reporters' questions Saturday, he had private 15-minute interviews scheduled with 20 teams this weekend.

The linebacker will also try to provide additional answers Monday when he runs the 40-yard dash and goes through athletic testing.

And when those formalities are finished, the far more extensive interactions will ramp up.

The Vikings, for one, seem likely to schedule Te'o for a Winter Park visit. And they will look forward to compiling results of the psychological testing they will put Te'o through, an exercise they hope can provide a reliable profile of who he is.

"There are a lot of different areas we really hone in on and try to look at," Spielman said. "Coachability. Social maturity. Self-esteem. Mental quickness."

On Thursday, before the Vikings had their chance to meet with Te'o, Spielman had no gut feeling for how his feelings might change.

"I don't know," Spielman said. "Because I haven't talked to him. ... So I don't know what percentage [the hoax stuff] is going to play. It could be, we're fine with what happened. Or maybe it's like, 'Yeesh. I don't know.'

"To be honest with you, I don't understand [some of it]. But I'm not a social media savvy guy. I ask my kids sometimes, 'Can you actually have a girlfriend online? How does that work?' I'm pretty naive when it comes to that. But honestly, I can't answer that question until we get in front and speak with him. I'm sure we'll have numerous conversations beyond the combine."

As well as Te'o handled Saturday, he best remain prepared. The demands of the pre-draft process are far from behind him.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/sports/192768291.html

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Cape Fear region people serving in the military

Pvt. Kyle Edwards has graduated from basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. He is a 2011 graduate of Hoke County High School.

Pvt. Jarid M. Adkins has graduated from basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. He is a 2010 graduate of Southern Lee High School, Sanford.

Pfc. Jacquelyn A. Sumrell, daughter of Lei A. Sumrell of Troy and Michael A. Sumrell of Fayetteville, has graduated from basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C.

Seaman Apprentice Kenneth H. Dowdy, son of Patti L. Dowdy of Lillington, recently completed Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill. He is a 2012 graduate of Harnett Central High School.

Seaman Apprentice Alexis M. Posey, daughter of Linda A. and John A. Posey of Fayetteville, recently completed Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill. She is a 2010 graduate of Village Christian Academy of Fayetteville.

Seaman Halle A. Lowman, daughter of Tonya L. Carrington of Fayetteville, recently completed Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill. She is a 2012 graduate of Douglas Byrd High School.

Pfc. Marcus D. Brown, son of Karen K. and Marcus D. Brown of Fayetteville, has graduated from basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. He is a 2012 graduate of Pine Forest High School.

Pvt. John K. Cooke, son of Rebecca M. Hunt of Bladenboro and Johnny L. Cooke II of Clinton, has graduated from basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. He is a 2012 graduate of West Bladen High School.

Pvt. Richard Z. Alston, son of Nathaniel Alston Jr. of Fayetteville, has graduated from basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. He is a 2012 graduate of Douglas Byrd High School.

Pfc. Tyron Santiago, son of Milagros and Ramon Santiago of Bunnlevel, has graduated from basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. He is a 2012 graduate of Overhills High School, Spring Lake.

Airman Stephen R. Elliott, son of Joan Elliott of Eastover and Diana Aspeitia of Fayetteville, has graduated from basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio. He is a 2012 graduate of Massey Hill Classical High School.

Airman Andrew M. Prokop, son of Mike Prokop of Lakeville, Minn., and Shellaine Prokop of Sanford, has graduated from basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio.

Airman Jacob D. Bonter, son of Tracy Bonter of Fort Bragg, has graduated from basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio. He is a 2011 graduate of E.E. Smith High School.

Airman Troy W. Tew, son of Samuel Tew of Fayetteville, has graduated from basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio. He is a 2012 graduate of Douglas Byrd High School.

Items on local soldiers and airmen come from the Army and Air Force Hometown News Service in San Antonio. Items on local members of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard come from the Fleet Home Town News Center in Norfolk, Va.

Source: http://fayobserver.com/articles/2013/02/23/1237395

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Gibbs: I was told not to acknowledge existence of drone program

Gibbs (Getty)

Robert Gibbs, President Barack Obama's former press secretary, says that he was once instructed by the White House not to acknowledge the administration's use of drones.

"When I went through the process of becoming press secretary, one of the first things they told me was, you're not even to acknowledge the drone program," Gibbs said on MSNBC's "Up With Chris Hayes" on Sunday. "You're not even to discuss that it exists."

Or, to paraphrase an oft-quoted line from David Fincher's 1999 film "Fight Club": The first rule of the drone program is you do not talk about the drone program.

Gibbs, who was recently hired by MSNBC as a contributor, called the proposition "inherently crazy."

"You're being asked a question based on reporting of a program that exists," Gibbs, who served as White House press secretary from 2009 to 2011, said. "So you're the official government spokesperson acting as if the entire program?pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

Obama's former spokesman said that while the administration has recently expressed the need to be more transparent about its use of drones, certain aspects of that program are "highly sensitive" and will likely remain secret.

?I have not talked to him about this, so I want to be careful," Gibbs said, "but I think what the president has seen is, our denial of the existence of the program when it?s obviously happening undermines people?s confidence overall in the decisions that their government makes.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/gibbs-drones-obama-talk-fight-club-174044860--politics.html

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Microsoft hit by similar hack to Apple, Facebook

By Reuters

Posted on 23 Feb 2013 at 11:43

Microsoft admitted a small number of its computers, including some in its Mac software business unit, were infected with malware.

It said there no evidence of customer data being affected and it is continuing its investigation.

Microsoft said the security intrusion was "similar" to recent ones reported by Apple and Facebook.

The incident, reported on one of the company's public blogs happened "recently", but Microsoft said it chose not to make any statement publicly while it gathered information about the attack.

"During our investigation, we found a small number of computers, including some in our Mac business unit, that were infected by malicious software using techniques similar to those documented by other organizations," said Matt Thomlinson, general manager of Trustworthy Computing Security at Microsoft, in the company's blog post. "We have no evidence of customer data being affected and our investigation is ongoing."

"This type of cyber-attack is no surprise to Microsoft and other companies that must grapple with determined and persistent adversaries," he added.

Over the past week or so, both Apple and Facebook said computers used by employees were attacked after visiting a software developer website infected with malicious software.

Source: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/380170/microsoft-hit-by-similar-hack-to-apple-facebook

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On Ethics and Self-Policing in (Citizen) Science

Science is experiencing a boost in enthusiasm and participation from the Citizen Science Movement.? For those familiar it conjures up images of kids, adults and seniors counting birds or counting stars at night.? Having thousands of eyes and ears all over the globe helping a team of scientists collect or sort through piles of data is so amazing. And impactful and evolving. Not only can you help collect data but you can be apart of the research, too. Projects like Your Wild Life allow you sample species in your navel, under your arm and on your kitchen counter. However, decentralizing the scientific process doesn?t mean that the rules of ethics don?t apply. Indeed Citizen Science becomes more popular and diverse, scientists are working diligently to stay ahead of the Ethics Curve.

Meet uBiome!

World?s FIRST citizen science project to sequence the human microbiome. Available INTERNATIONALLY in 196 countries. Learn about your health & change the world!

Now enter the IRB Ethical Debate. Boundary Layer Physiology (here, here, here) Comradde Physioprof (here, here, here), Drugmonkey (here), Janet Stemwedel (here), Peter Lipson (here) all had plenty to say. Short story: It?s complicated. uBiome, said Citizen Science Project would like to collect and analyze microbes living on our body. It is an exciting sounding project and I completely see how they were able to raise over $300K to fund it. But the Doctors and Physiologists (and some Ethicists, too) raised an eye brow or two. The campaigners weren?t very upfront about how they address ethical issues since they were working with human subjects.

uBiome from uBiome on Vimeo.

It sounds awesome, right?? So, what?s the big deal.? For the average person, everything looks and sounds fine. You donate some money, you get a kit, you swab yourself, you *knowlingly* participate, you learn some cool stuff about yourself and contribute to science. What?s not awesome about that?

Well, it?s a little thing, but it matters SO much: You must have ALL of your bases covered, even the ones nobody will likely reach. You must do this first. You must be upfront about everything you are or will do. You must be completely UNAMBIGUOUS. No matter how innocent and benign things may seem or be, you must handle all of the details related to safety, privacy, risk and you put it out there for EVERYBODY to see and criticize before you announce or open for business. Kind of like this:

The Twitter back and forth with the uBiome CEO really suggested the organization was a little defensive.? And to a non-scientist perhaps the Physiology Bloggers did come on heavy handed. But the thing is, there is no light way address Ethical issues. At. ALL. We scientists have rules. These rules are not only for the research project at hand but for the sake of the entire discipline.? When one person gets out of line, we ALL take a hit for it, get scrutinized and in some cases demonized for not being ethical.

This is an issue I address often as an African-American researcher. I struggle constantly and earnestly to present science and research as an inclusive and plural enterprise.? Most of my folks don?t trust human research of any kind ? invasive, observational, even educational research that only requires answering questions on a test. NOTHING!? The biggest challenges I deal with is convincing them that the rules and oversight for science medical research 1) exist ? there were no such rules during the Tuskegee experiments, 2) are taken seriously by all professionals and 3) are strictly enforced with oversight by other scientists and the government.

As a scientist it is essential that we are the first ones to call out something that doesn?t seem right.? People closest to the infraction are expected to be the first to nip things in the bud. Addressing the situation directly, unambiguously and yes sometimes vehemently is required, even for the most simple and minor infractions.? That isn?t to say that people will be excommunicated from school or science for little things, but it about jerking chains. uBiome go their chains jerked and they didn?t like it. Frankly, they weren?t supposed to.

You see, scientists are NOT inherently ethical. Plus, ethics are not static. They change and are subject to context and human fallibility.? Even in our most honest and sincere intentions we ? Scientists ? can still run afoul. And it often starts innocently and small. Left unchecked things can get bad, and they have gotten bad before.

Spring 2011 I lead a three-part book discussion of Rebecca Skloot?s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.? Ethics, Accessibility, and Faith were three of the major themes presented in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and each of the book discussions titled ? Confronting Science: African American Perceptions of Science and Medical Research. These themes are also major filters through which many African-Americans (and other ethnic minority individuals) view science today.

For me the book revealed seven major ethical issues of science and medical research that plagued the doctors and researchers in The Immortal Life and today?s researchers continue to grapple with these issues, too. (Link to full set of book discussion questions on Ethics here.)

1.Consent and Informed Consent
2.Privacy
3.Benevolent Deception
4.Vulnerable subjects
5.Blind Objectivity
6.Capitalistic Urges
7.Game changers

Sometimes we, Scientists, assume that ?For the sake of Science? is the highest value possible. Our training to disassociate with subjects and focus on unbiased questions and yield concise, clear details we can become blind to the pain of others.? I call this Blind Objectivity and it is as dangerous to the success of an experiment as prejudice is.

Using The Immortal Life as a discussion/study tool, in Chapter 7. The Death and Life of Cell Culture, we learn that Dr. Gey begins sending HeLa cells all over the world to anyone wanting to do cancer research.? Researchers could do to the cells ?what would have been impossible with a living human being.?

By today?s ethical standards, researchers are required to reduce exposure to any experiment to a living organism (whether human or animal) where ever possible.? HeLa cells make it possible to try out all kinds of potentially dangerous treatments without harming a person.? But at what cost did the research community make this ethical gain?? Was it a fair trade-off, in light of the pain and exploitation of Mrs. Lacks and her family?

Gey is a lot like most researchers who find something neat and wants to spread the word.? I doubt he would have imagined the ethical fiasco he birthed. Not accusing the uBiome team of any notions of down-the-road wrong-doing, but seriously how are you all making sure your volunteers will not be exploited by you or others in the future?

In Chapter 12. The Storm. Mary Kubicek was Gey?s laboratory technician who did the bulk of the cell culture work with HeLa cells.? She handled her tumor and watched it grow.? Mary was also present to collect more tumor samples from Mrs. Lacks? body at her autopsy. She reveals how she doesn?t really realize that HeLa cells come from a real person until this moment:

?When I saw those toenails, I nearly fainted. I thought, Oh geez, she?s real person. I started imagining her sitting in her bathroom painting those toenails, and it hit me for the first time that those se cells we?d been working with all of this time and sending all over the world, they can from a live woman. I?d never thought of it that way?.

Researchers are taught to remain objective when designing and completing experiments.? This is especially true when dealing with living subjects.? How might the dissociation of researchers have paved the way to other ethical breeches we learn about in the book?

In science, the pursuit of data can consume a researcher.? It seemed as if the Gey lab was set on getting additional cells from Mrs. Lacks post-mortem.? Researchers asked Mr. David Lacks for permission to harvest more cells from Mrs. Lacks and he said no.? They didn?t let up until they got what they wanted, because it was for the good of science.

Do you think it was ethical for the researchers to continue to ask Mr. Lacks after he said no?? Was it unethical of them to deceive him and say the research might help his children?

Years later, researchers would continue to collect samples from the rest of the family, bothering them, frightening them.

Does ?to the benefit of science and the public good? really justify actions of Gey, TeLinde and the other researchers and HeLa cell manufacturers who benefited from Mrs. Lacks and failed to consider her family?

Does this explanation justify it for anyone?? Are there ways we can protect people, even from ourselves?

To that last question, I say yes. Science isn?t a sterile industry, but together we make it better and accountable.? I commend Melissa Bates, Dr Free Ride, Drug Monkey, Peter Lipson, Comradde Physio Prof and others for holding the UBiome team accountable. Together, we make science safe for everyone.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=4e7cea08ce474698a3abfdf7b104eaa8

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