Tuesday, May 21, 2013

'Chuck' and 'Smash' stars head to Broadway

NEW YORK (AP) ? A couple of stars from TV's "Chuck" and "Smash" will soon be dating on Broadway.

Producers said Monday that Zachary Levi and Krysta Rodriguez will headline the new romantic musical comedy "First Date" by "Gossip Girl" writer Austin Winsberg.

The music and lyrics are by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner.

"First Date" centers on an uptight young investment banker who meets a serial-dater at a local bistro. A chorus of diners become various characters ? family members, clergy and old lovers.

The show will be seen at The Longacre Theatre beginning July 9 with an opening set for Aug. 8.

The rest of the cast includes Sara Chase ("Arrested Development"), Kristoffer Cusick ("Wicked"), Blake Hammond ("Sister Act"), Kate Loprest ("Boardwalk Empire," and Vicki Noon ("Wicked").

The show, co-produced by The 5th Avenue Theatre, played at A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle last year. It will be directed by Bill Berry, the producing director of The 5th Avenue Theatre.

Levi, who will be in the film "Thor: The Dark World," follows fellow "Chuck" alum Yvonne Strahovski to make his Broadway debut. She made a strong impression in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of Clifford Odets' "Golden Boy."

Rodriguez, who plays Ana Vargas on "Smash," was last on Broadway in "The Addams Family," originating the role of Wednesday Addams alongside Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. She also was in the original Broadway casts of "In the Heights," ''Spring Awakening" and "Good Vibrations."

___

Online: http://www.FirstDateTheMusical.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chuck-smash-stars-head-broadway-153017801.html

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Honey, I shrunk the deficit! (video) (Americablog)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/306851553?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Monday, May 20, 2013

Nanomedicine Three Times More Effective in Treating Eye Infections ...

eyeDoctors Health Press, a division of Lombardi Publishing Corporation and publisher of various natural health newsletters, books, and reports, including the popular online Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin, is reporting on a new study finding nanomedicine to be three times more effective than conventional medications in the treatment of eye infections.

As Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin (http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/general-health-2/health-news/this-could-be-the-new-frontier-in-eye-health) notes, many people don?t have perfect eyesight due to injury, age-related wear and tear, and disease. For those who don?t have good eyesight, they might find it difficult to read from afar, or may feel like everything is constantly blurry. For some people, this may be a temporary state, but for many unfortunate others, poor eyesight is a permanent fact of life.

As the article ?This Could Be the New Frontier in Eye Health? reports, one of the main triggers for poor eyesight is the presence of a corneal infection. Many times, people find that, somehow, bacteria are able to invade the cornea after surgery?and that?s when an infection can set in.

These infections can be serious, causing irritation, ruptures, and inflammation. If left untreated, blurry vision, and even blindness, can result. In addition, this type of infection is much more widespread these days, due to the increase in corneal surgeries for cataracts, glaucoma, and other conditions.

The Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin article states that researchers have discovered that they can use nanomedicine to improve the delivery and quantity of medicine that an infected eye receives.

Normally, conventional drops are put into the eye; with this type of drug delivery, scientists estimate a mere five percent of the medicine actually reaches the site of infection. Since the patient?s natural tendency is to blink and tear up whenever something touches their eyeball, an even greater amount of the medicine is washed away, making these conventional drugs very ineffective.

But according to the article, that?s where nanomedicine comes in. Scientists have come up with a way to get drugs directly where they are needed in the right quantities. Soft contacts can be filled with nanoparticle drugs and delivered to a precise spot on the eye. Not only that, but the medicine can be released over a sustained period of time.

Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin reports that a research team recently tested the effects of nanomedicine on dogs with glaucoma. They delivered a drug called ?timolol? through contact lenses. Because the nanomedicine was concentrated and potent, only one-third of a dose was needed to reduce ocular pressure when compared to conventional eye drops. The researchers also experimented by adding vitamin E to the nanomedicine, which had the effect of prolonging the release of the timolol.

As Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin concludes, this research has the potential to change the lives of people with vision problems.

- Courtesy of PRWeb

Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/nanomedicine-three-times-more-effective-in-treating-eye-infections/

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One of the Most Personal Ways to Support Veterans?and It Won?t Cost You a Dime

May 18 is Armed Forces Day and in honor of that, some cities are staging the usual summer weekend fanfare to mark the occasion?events like parades, softball tournaments and outdoor concerts will be in effect all weekend.

While those shows of support are important for current and past soldiers to witness, there are other ways civilians can demonstrate their allegiance to the men and women of the U.S. currently serving in or returning from war.

In the last decade, 2.4 million soldiers have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and one way to honor them?that?s not often thought of, but can be life-altering?is to simply listen to them.

?

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StoryCorps is a nonprofit that?s collected and archived the personal tales of 90,000 Americans so far, logging them in the Library of Congress. One of its initiatives, Military Voices, records the personal stories of post-9/11 veterans, active-duty service members, and their families, giving them a much-needed moment to be seen, heard and acknowledged.

The stories are an intimate and rarely seen look at the myriad of small ways that going to war can change a person. StoryCorps regularly adds new installments to its ongoing program, but each is uniquely moving.

For instance, there?s Sergeant Marilyn Gonzalez and her daughter, Specialist Jessica Pedraza, who served in Iraq together. Upon finding out her mother was being deployed, Pedraza changed her assignment so she could accompany her. You can hear that recording below:

Recording: Military Voices Initiative/StoryCorps

And there are many more, like Staff Sergeant Daniel Hodd and his mother, Evelyn discussing his choice to put off his budding pianist career in order to enlist in the Marine Corps. When he broke his finger in an accident, Hodd was told he wouldn?t be able to deploy with a broken appendage?and so he had it amputated.

No one story is identical to another, and so collectively make up a picture of what deployment feels like, looks like, and how it stays with each member of the military long after it's over. Most importantly, it lets the listener see our Armed Forces no longer as a faceless agency or extension of the government, but as a group of people, individuals worthy of care and respect.

And StoryCorps isn't done yet. Next month, from June 3?June 22, the organization will be on-site in San Diego, recording the stories of that city's veteran and military community. StoryCorps' mobile recording studio?which is housed in a silver-bullet trailer?will park itself outside the USS Military Museum. Reservations to participate may be made on the StoryCorps website.

In addition, civilians can also contact the nonprofit to record their own true tales. Everyone needs to feel heard and while expressing your own story can be an important act of self-acceptance, listening to another's can be sign of deep respect.

StoryCorps allows anyone to record their life experience. Would you choose to do it? Tell us why or why not in the Comments.

Related stories on TakePart

? Boy Donates Thousands to Veterans' Facial Reconstruction Surgeries

? A Fair Education? Military Kids Struggle With New Schools, Red Tape, and High Stress

? Proud Hometown Sponsors a Dream Wedding for Amputee Vet (VIDEO)


A Bay Area native, Andri Antoniades previously worked as a fashion industry journalist and medical writer.??In addition to reporting the weekend news on TakePart, she volunteers as a web editor for locally-based nonprofits and works as a freelance feature writer. @andritweets?| TakePart.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/one-most-personal-ways-support-veterans-won-t-205036119.html

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Sunday, May 19, 2013

Drinks-On With the World's Biggest, Baddest Bartending Robot

At the Google I/O after party the other night, there was one bartender in particular that stood out. It wasn't the drink he made, or the friendly chatter. It was more than he weighed several tons and could break you with the flick of the wrist. Meet the Makr Shakr.

It's Friday afternoon, you've made it through the long week, and it's time for Happy Hour, Gizmodo's weekly booze column. A cocktail shaker full of innovation, science, and alcohol. Do Androids dream of the perfect Manhattan?

Makr Shakr was designed at MIT's Senseable City Lab and produced and implemented by Carlo Ratti Associati in Italy, where it was built. Incredibly, this massive project went from concept to full implementation in roughly three months. The full rig weighs between five and six metric tons and made the voyage across the sea in a rather densely packed shipping container. It is simply the most advanced robot bartender we've ever seen.

Users download an app (at I/O they had a tablet with a scaled-back version of the app pre-loaded) and log in. From there, they can either take a drink template that already exists, or they can start from scratch. Makr Shakr partnered with Bacardi and Coca-cola, so there are roughly two dozen spirits and liqueurs, and over a hundred non-alcoholic mixers to choose from (Fanta Peach, anyone?). You pick your ingredients and the quantity of each that you want in it. You an also add solid ingredients such as a salt and pepper mix, granulated sugar, lemon slices, or even mint leaves. Your total drink will be up to 200ml (roughly 6.8 fluid ounces), when all is said and done.

Then you choose how the drink should be prepared (shaken, stirred, muddled, blended), name the drink, and submit it. Then the magic starts.

How It Works

Once you submit your drink order, that information is sent to a web server, which sends it back down to a local server on the Makr Shakr. That information is then split into two parts. One is the visualization system, which, along with the app, was made with partners from Pentegram and super ?ber. On the large screen behind the robotic arms you can see exactly what's going into your drink when and what's being done to it as it happens. You can also see how many people are ahead of you and what the wait will be like. The other half of the data goes into the robotics systems.

Most prominent are the three robotic arms. These are Kuka KR 16 robots, a pretty iconic symbol of the industrial revolution. You typically see these puppies in paint factories. They can lift 16 kilograms, they are unnervingly quick and incredibly precise (accuracy down to 1/10th of a millimeter). The two robots on the outside have cocktail shakers for hands (with lids that can close), while the one in the middle has a hand that holds and delivers the cups.

Behind the arms are a large network of taps, each of which are automated. Each spirit is housed in its own nitrogen-pressurized tank. Once the shaker is placed under the tab, an actuator opens the valve, and a pre-determined amount is dispensed. The Coca-Cola products are distributed in basically the same way. Ice, and other dry ingredients all drop in as they should. Behind the screen are two blades which hold and cut lemons into uniformly thick slices, and then drop it into your drink. It's incredibly sophisticated. There is also an immersion blender and muddler, for making drinks like pi?a coladas or mojitos.

Once all of the ingredients are in, the robot closes the lid on the shaker and either shakes it vigorously (and with a pretty good approximation of a human arm movement), or swirls it gently to give it a stirred effect. Truth be told, they make a bit of a mess, but hey, they're only three months old. They then pour the drink into the cup the middle robot is holding. That robot adds garnish as necessary, and then places the finished drink onto one of five conveyor belts, which delivers the drink to the awaiting imbiber. The shaker is then rinsed off with a blast of water, and the process begins again.

There are some interesting things the software can do, too. "We want to make sure people use the Makr Shakr to drink responsibly," says Alessandro Incisa, Project Manager from Carlo Ratti Associati, who managed implementation. "It keeps track of the alcohol by volume of each drink it serves you. It could limit the number of alcoholic drinks each person has in a night." But because it's keeping track of percentages, it would be a dynamic number. For example you might be allowed 5 drinks that were 12 percent ABV over a given period of time, but only two drinks that were 40 percent. It can also count your calories, and if people punched in some vital statistics, the Makr Shakr could even estimate your blood-alcohol content (BAC) throughout the night.

At Google there was a limited subset of features, just because I/O was such a huge event and they wanted everyone to get a taste. In the app's full implementation you can filter by elements of the drink. This not only helps you discover a drink you might like, but it gives you a genealogy of that drink's creation. So, say you're looking for a drink with whiskey, and you discover a drink I created. You can see not only how my drink was made, but you can see the previous iterations of it and read my notes, ?I liked it, but I think I made it a little too sweet this time.? You can adjust it to further refine it. When you do, I'll get a notifications that the drink I've been working on has had another iteration. Maybe I want to try it. I go to the back and further refine it. Even if we never actually meet at the bar, and we don't know each others' names, we've created something together. It's about a participatory, democratized design.

Why It Matters

The Makr Shakr is not, as one might suspect, trying to replace bartenders. The drinks I sampled were, in general, decent. Or as decent as the person that created them envisioned them. But bartending is more art than science, and crafting flavors is still best done with a human touch. The MIT guys know that, and they don't want to change that. They aren't trying to make a better drink. Instead, the Makr Shakr is meant as an example?a microcosm, really?of some of the principals of the Third Industrial Revolution.

Industrial technology has progressed to incredible places, obviously, but according to Yaniv Jacob Turgeman, the project leader from the MIT side, we've been somewhat alienated from it. With Makr Shakr, they are using these incredible robotics?symbols of the industrial revolution?but they are made accessible. "Part of the idea is that anyone can control this powerful technology with something in their pocket," said Turgeman.

Carlo Ratti, the father of Makr Shakr who runs the MIT Senseable City Lab, agreed. This is intended to be an example of the new way things are 1. Designed, 2. Made, and then 3. Enjoyed. They chose drinks because within just a few minutes, people can go through the whole cycle. It's a fast and clean example, but of course that's just a small example.

?It could be designing a sandwich," said Ratti in our phone interview. "Or it could be designing a city or desiging a building." He thinks that's a day we will see in our lifetimes. Something like a public square would be especially ripe for this philosophy, since so many people use it, it would make sense that more people could design together. That's exemplified in the Makr Shakr, too. Part of it is about social creation and consumption.

It means more to us when we participate in the creative process. It makes our drink (or house, or public square) not just more personalized to our tastes, but there's a sense that it belongs to us, because it's something that we created. When you apply these philosophies to production?a world we've come to think of as robotic?suddenly it becomes human again, because we can see ourselves in it.

Or maybe they'll just enslave us all using alcoholism.

Huge thanks to Carlo Ratti, Alessandro Incisa, and Yaniv Jacob Turgeman for their time.

Makr Shakr: Project concept and design by MIT Senseable City Lab; Implementation by carlorattiassociati | walter nicolino & carlo ratti; Main partners - Coca-Cola and Barcardi. Technical partners - Kuka, Pentagram, SuperUber; Media partners - Domus, Wired; Top video by Brent Rose/Michael Hession; YouTube by MyBossWas; Event in collaboration with Meet the Media Guru, and endorsed by: Comune di Milano, World Expo Milano 2015 ? Energy for Life. Feeding the Planet. Full credits available at www.makrshakr.com

Splash Photo Credit: Max Tomasinelli

Top Video: Michael Hession/Brent Rose

Source: http://gizmodo.com/drinks-on-with-the-worlds-biggest-baddest-bartending-508259499

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Saturday, May 18, 2013

Looking for a tough Lightning cable? Moshi has just the thing for you

Moshi makes some great accessories for the iPhone and the iPad, and their latest is no exception. Lightning cables are always a handy commodity to have around, but Moshi has done something a little different with theirs. They've encased them in aluminum.

Moshi claims that their new USB to Lightning cables are "almost indestructible," so definitely worth a look if you're the sort of person who keeps breaking plastic things. Better yet, Moshi's cables cost only $20, just $1 more than the Apple Lightning cables, making them extremely good value for money. The cables are available in black as well as a white and silver option, and are available to order from Moshi now.

Are you one of those people who would love a rough and tough Lightning cable? Will you be picking one of these up?

Source: Moshi

    


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/VnOLHuXtjq4/story01.htm

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Engineers monitor heart health using paper-thin flexible 'skin'

May 16, 2013 ? Most of us don't ponder our pulses outside of the gym. But doctors use the human pulse as a diagnostic tool to monitor heart health.

Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford, has developed a heart monitor thinner than a dollar bill and no wider than a postage stamp. The flexible skin-like monitor, worn under an adhesive bandage on the wrist, is sensitive enough to help doctors detect stiff arteries and cardiovascular problems.

The devices could one day be used to continuously track heart health and provide doctors a safer method of measuring a key vital sign for newborn and other high-risk surgery patients.

"The pulse is related to the condition of the artery and the condition of the heart," said Bao, whose lab develops artificial skin-like materials. "The better the sensor, the better doctors can catch problems before they develop."

Your pulse

To find your pulse, press your index and middle finger into the underside of your opposite wrist. You should feel the steady rhythm of your heart as it pumps blood through your veins.

Each beat you feel is actually made up of two distinct peaks, even though you can't tell them apart with just your fingers. The first, larger peak is from your heart pumping out blood. Shortly after a heartbeat, your lower body sends a reflecting wave back to your artery system, creating a smaller second peak.

The relative sizes of these two peaks can be used by medical experts to measure your heart's health.

"You can use the ratio of the two peaks to determine the stiffness of the artery, for example," said Gregor Schwartz, a post-doctoral fellow and a physicist for the project. "If there is a change in the heart's condition, the wave pattern will change. Fortunately, when I tested this on myself, my heart looked fine."

To make the heart monitor both sensitive and small, Bao's team uses a thin middle layer of rubber covered with tiny pyramid bumps. Each mold-made pyramid is only a few microns across -- smaller than a human red blood cell.

When pressure is put on the device, the pyramids deform slightly, changing the size of the gap between the two halves of the device. This change in separation causes a measurable change in the electromagnetic field and the current flow in the device.

The more pressure placed on the monitor, the more the pyramids deform and the larger the change in the electromagnetic field. Using many of these sensors on a prosthetic limb could act like an electronic skin, creating an artificial sense of touch.

When the sensor is placed on someone's wrist using an adhesive bandage, the sensor can measure that person's pulse wave as it reverberates through the body.

The device is so sensitive that it can detect more than just the two peaks of a pulse wave. When engineers looked at the wave drawn by their device, they noticed small bumps in the tail of the pulse wave invisible to conventional sensors. Bao said she believes these fluctuations could potentially be used for more detailed diagnostics in the future.

Blood pressure and babies

Doctors already use similar, albeit much bulkier, sensors to keep track of a patient's heart health during surgery or when taking a new medication. But in the future Bao's device could help keep track of another vital sign.

"In theory, this kind of sensor can be used to measure blood pressure," said Schwartz. "Once you have it calibrated, you can use the signal of your pulse to calculate your blood pressure."

This non-invasive method of monitoring heart health could replace devices inserted directly into an artery, called intravascular catheters. These catheters create a high risk of infection, making them impractical for newborns and high-risk patients. Thus, an external monitor like Bao's could provide doctors a safer way to gather information about the heart, especially during infant surgeries.

Bao's team is working with other Stanford researchers to make the device completely wireless. Using wireless communication, doctors could receive a patient's minute-by-minute heart status via cell phone, all thanks to a device as thick as a human hair.

"For some patients with a potential heart disease, wearing a bandage would allow them to constantly measure their heart's condition," Bao said. "This could be done without interfering with their daily life at all, since it really just requires wearing a small bandage."

The team published its work in the May 12 edition of Nature Communications. The team's research is supported by funding from the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/-oiQkXr5dnA/130516105702.htm

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Friday, May 17, 2013

GWH News and Notes: May 18 All-Star Wrestling event in Lewisburg ...

GWH News and Notes: May 18 All-Star Wrestling event in Lewisburg, TN

May 18 All-Star Wrestling event in Lewisburg, TN

From Brian Slack:

?

All-Star Wrestling will be at the ASW House of Pain in Lewisburg, TN on May 18th. Advertised: JP "Cage" Jones (w/Brittany) defends the ASW Heavyweight championship against "Superstar" Mikey Dunn. Damien Payne vs. Wolfie D (w/Brittany). "The Ice Man" Chris Kern & Mark Dunnavant vs. Yukon Jack & "Magnificent" James Arp. Chaos "Maxx" Carnage vs. "Beautiful" Bobby Lowe. Freakshow vs. "Sensei" Phil Macchio. Tickets are $5 adults and free for children under 6. Doors open at 6:00 and bell time is at 8:00.

Source: http://www.gwhnews.com/2013/05/may-18-all-star-wrestling-event-in.html

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Canada PM on pipeline plan: Oil to come anyway

NEW YORK (AP) -- Canada's prime minister said Thursday that a controversial oil pipeline from his country to the U.S. Gulf Coast "absolutely needs to go ahead" and warned that the oil will be transported through America one way or another.

Stephen Harper spoke on the Keystone XL project during a visit to New York City. The pipeline project carrying oil from Canada's tar sands would need approval from the U.S. State Department.

"The only real immediate environmental issue here is, do we want to increase the flow of oil from Canada by pipeline or via rail?" Harper said. He called rail "far more environmentally challenging."

Dozens of protesters from groups including the Sierra Club chanted against the pipeline as Harper arrived at the Council on Foreign Relations.?

The Obama administration is considering whether to approve the pipeline, which would carry 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta across six U.S. states to the Texas Gulf Coast. A decision is expected this summer.

The pipeline has become a flashpoint in the U.S. debate over climate change.

Republicans, and business and labor groups, have urged the Obama administration to approve the pipeline as a source of much-needed jobs and a step toward North American energy independence.

Environmental groups have been pressuring President Barack Obama to reject the pipeline, saying it would carry "dirty oil" that contributes to global warming. They also worry about a spill.

Obama's initial rejection of the pipeline last year went over badly in Canada, which relies on the U.S. for 97 percent of its energy exports.

The pipeline is critical to Canada, which needs infrastructure in place to export its growing oil sands production from northern Alberta. The region has the world's third largest oil reserves, with 170 billion barrels of proven reserves.

"I think all the facts are overwhelmingly on the side of approval of this," Harper said Thursday, adding that climate-affecting emissions from oil sands are "almost nothing globally."

TransCanada Corp. is now looking at a mid to late-2015 start-up for the pipeline project.

TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard in a statement Thursday said the company appreciates Harper's support of the pipeline project and said Harper's advocacy "helps cut through the noise and misinformation about the project. He clearly understands the importance of this project for Canada."

Harper's wide-ranging comments also touched on Syria and Israel.

"There's nothing more shortsighted in Western capitals in our time than the softening of support we've seen for Israel around the globe," he said, calling the country "the one stable, democratic ally in this part of the world."

On Syria, Harper urged "extraordinary caution" on the idea of arming the opposition.

"We should not fool ourselves about what's happening in Syria," he said, saying there is "brutality and extremism on both sides."

"To start talking about arming unnamed people whose objectives we don't understand, I think, is extremely risky," Harper said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/canada-pm-pipeline-plan-oil-183357921.html

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Elysium-Review - Femalefirst

Elysium-In Valour

Artist: Elysium

Debut EP: In Valour

Rating: 4/5

Out Now

Elysium are an up-coming band from Watford who have released a new EP, ?In Valour?. The four-some formed in late 2012, after previously being in the same band, ?Times Like These.?? The band consists of Shaun Taylor who plays the rhythm guitar and vocals, Harley Jones who also sings on the tracks as well as playing lead guitar, Ollie Reeve plays the bass guitar and vocals and Lewis Crawley is on drums.

The first track In Valour, begins with an electrifying guitar instrumental and then kicks in with roaring vocals and impressive drumming skills which instantly create the vibe of the band. It continues with hard-core guitar reefs and adds to the effect of the band?s sound.

I?m a thief but I keep what I steal is the most hardcore of all 4 tracks. The track is fast paced with screaming vocals and booming instruments, this track is not for the faint-hearted but definitely lives up to the bands essence. It will get you rocking your heart out and with the lyrics being just about easy enough to make out, you will be singing or screaming along too.

Scars is another gritty, intense song that keeps the rocky feel throughout the whole of the EP. The song focuses more on the vocals which captivates you as a listener and works well with the sound and the instruments that are used. The vocals of the band are very harsh yet gritty and the delivery of the lyrics is what the songs needs to give them that little edge. The EP is definitely for people who prefer hard rock music and provides something meaty for the listener to get to grips with.

The last song on the EP, Boy, begins with a slow-paced introduction which instantly smashes into a hardcore fast-paced instrumental. With the EP?s punchy melodies and exceptional vocals the chsoen songs are ideal for the bands style.

It?s a must for all you lovers of rock music- you won?t be disappointed!


by

Source: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/reviews/single/musician-292880.html

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Light up your Converse All-Stars with Adafruit's DIY tutorial (video)

DNP Lightup Converse AllStar tutorial

If you missed out on the L.A. Lights craze of the early '90s, fear not -- there's hope for you yet. Adafruit's DIY enhancement for Converse All-Stars takes customized kicks to a whole new level with the science of electroluminescence. To light up the star on your Chucks, all you need is a pair of EL panels, tiny inverters (like a coincell or AAA battery type), some common household tools and half-way competent sewing skills. So, if you want to add some flash to your footwear and become the coolest kid in school, check out Adafruit's simple tutorial, embedded after the break.

Filed under: ,

Comments

Source: Adafruit

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/16/adafruit-light-up-converse-all-star-tutorial/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Mining the botulinum genome

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The toxin that causes botulism is the most potent that we know of. Eating an amount of toxin just 1000th the weight of a grain of salt can be fatal, which is why so much effort has been put into keeping Clostridium botulinum, which produces the toxin, out of our food.

The Institute of Food Research on the Norwich Research Park has been part of that effort through studying the bacteria and the way they survive, multiply and cause such harm. In new research, IFR scientists have been mining the genome of C. botulinumto uncover new information about the toxin genes.

There are seven distinct, but similar, types of botulinum neurotoxin, produced by different strains of C. botulinumbacteria. Different sub-types of the neurotoxin appear to be associated with different strains of the bacteria. Genetic analysis of these genes will give us information about how they evolved.

Dr Andy Carter, working in Professor Mike Peck's research group, used data generated from sequencing efforts at The Genome Analysis Centre, on the Norwich Research Park. Andy compared the genome sequence of five different C. botulinumstrains, all from the same group and all producing the same sub-type of neurotoxin.

An initial finding was that the five strains were remarkably similar in the area of the genome containing the neurotoxin gene. This suggests that the bacteria picked up the gene cluster in a single event, sometime in the past. Bacteria commonly acquire genes, or gene clusters, from other bacteria through this horizontal gene transfer. It is a way that bacteria have evolved to share 'weapons', such as antibiotic activity or the ability to produce toxins. To find out more about how C. botulinumacquired its own deadly weapon, Andy delved deeper into the genome sequence.

Like fossils of long lost organisms, Andy found, in the same region of the genome, evidence of two other genes for producing two of the other types of neurotoxin. Although these gene fragments are completely non-functional, finding them in the same place in the genome as the functional neurotoxin gene cluster is significant as it suggests that this region of the genome could be a 'hotspot' for gene transfer.

Looking to either side of the neurotoxin gene cluster uncovered more evidence supporting the hotspot idea. When the gene cluster inserted into the C. botulinum genome, it cut in two another gene. This gene is essential for the bacteria to replicate its DNA, so why does destroying it not prove fatal? C. botulinumwas unaffected by this because contained in the segment of imported DNA was another version of the chopped-up gene.

Perhaps this is pointing us to the way C. botulinumfirst picks up its lethal weapon. This should help us prepare against the emergence of new strains, and may even one day help us disarm this deadly foe.

###

The research was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution Advance.

Norwich BioScience Institutes: http://www.nbi.ac.uk/

Thanks to Norwich BioScience Institutes for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128267/Mining_the_botulinum_genome

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Zachary Winthrop '13 Wins George Wharton Pepper Prize, Will ...

Zachary Winthrop ?13 (Philadelphia, Pa.) is the recipient of the George Wharton Pepper Prize, awarded annually to the senior ?who most nearly represents the Lafayette ideal.?

Zachary Winthrop ’13 with a few friends in Kunkle Hall

Zachary Winthrop ?13 with a few friends in Kunkle Hall

The prize was established in 1923 by George Wharton Pepper H?22, a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, attorney, and founding member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. In his gift, Pepper noted that the ?ideal? Lafayette student combines a ?sound academic record? with ?noteworthy participation in College activities and student life.?

A biology major with a minor in art, Winthrop was one of 10 finalists for the Pepper Prize. He was chosen through a vote of the student body and faculty, and will speak at Lafayette?s 178th Commencement Saturday, May 24.

Winthrop has received an internship as a chief research assistant with the National Alliance of Research Associates Program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he will research cervical cancer. He also is applying to medical school.

In his social, academic, and athletic life on campus, Winthrop stresses the importance of making connections among people and using synthesis to combine often disparate ideas and skills to produce unexpected results.

?In four years at Lafayette, I have discovered this notion of synthesis in some of the most unexpected and inspiring places,? he says. ?I have jumped across or smudged lines that divide academic departments, social circles, student activities, experiences, and beliefs. ?In the classroom, I have learned synthetic skills, exploring the interplay, for example, between developmental biology and creative writing, between sociology and art history, between drawing and botany.?

His independent research on biological art with Anna Edlund, assistant professor of biology, combines his passions and serves as a perfect example of his idea of synthesis.

Winthrop constructed scientific three-dimensional models to test how the use of models and drawings can enhance the process of learning. He also studied the scientific illustrations of Swedish scientist Gunnar Erdtman, the ?founding father? of Edlund?s field of pollen biology.

As part of a research grant from Lafayette, he spent a week in London studying biological art at historic sites such as the Natural History Museum, The Botanical Library of the Natural History Museum, and The Kew Gardens Botanical Library. He coauthored a paper with Edlund on Gunnar Erdtman, which was presented at a lecture series at the Linnaean Society of London. Winthrop also spent a semester as a research assistant for Scott Poethig, Williams Professor of Biology at University of Pennsylvania, where he ran cell and developmental biology experiments on Acacia and Arabidopsis plant species.

Winthrop played on defense for four years on the College?s Division I men?s soccer team. In addition to helping the team win the Patriot League Championship this season, Winthrop has been named to the Patriot League honor roll four times. He has been selected to attend the College?s Oaks Leadership Academy for three years and attended the 2012 Naval Academy Leadership Conference: Visionary Leadership, Navigating Through Uncharted Waters.

On campus, he has served for three years as a member of the peer mentor program, which, sponsored by the Department of Athletics, provides guidance and support for first-year student-athletes. He is a peer scribe for the ATTIC (Academic Tutoring and Training Information Center), which allows students to work as scribes for fellow students who, either due to injury or disability, cannot manage to write their own notes. He has also volunteered for Lafayette?s SAAC 5K-Run fundraiser, Bone Marrow Drive, St. Baldrick?s Day pediatric cancer research fundraiser, and the Easton Area Special Olympics Soccer Event. He is also a certified emergency medical technician and volunteers for Special Olympics in Philadelphia.

Source: http://www.lafayette.edu/about/news/2013/05/14/zachary-winthrop-13-wins-george-wharton-pepper-prize-will-speak-at-178th-commencement/

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Wes Scantlin, Puddle of Mudd Singer, Arrested for Ex-Wife Abuse

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/wes-scantlin-puddle-of-mudd-singer-arrested-for-ex-wife-abuse/

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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Hump Day Special

Hump Day Special

Taylor Swift's fan mail tossed in trashNicholas Hoult Poses for Flaunt Magazine?[The Frisky] Media Drives Lana Del Rey to Hit the Bottle?[HollyWire] Gwyneth Paltrow a Fashion Miss in May?[Right Celebrity] Fan Arrested for Swimming to Taylor Swift Beach House?[The Celebrity Cafe] Nikki Leigh on a Photo Shoot at the Beach?[The Blemish] Miley Cyrus Poses without Pants?[The Huffington Post] Carrie Underwood Wears ...

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Inconvenient Deficit Facts (talking-points-memo)

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TWC TV Android update with live TV streaming away from home now available

TWC TV Android update with live TV streaming away from home now available

Just as promised, Time Warner Cable has delivered a new version of its TWC TV app for Android users that includes access to live TV streams of certain channels while away from home. That new feature is accompanied by several other tweaks, including TV mini guide filtering and expanded device support for devices running Android 2.2 and higher. Out of home streaming is still more limited than that provided by solutions like Slingbox or Cablevision's Optimum, and streaming over cellular connections are restricted to Verizon only (for now.) Despite the restrictions, the app is out now and will hopefully see them loosened in the future, subscribers can grab it now at the link below.

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Source: Google Play

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/14/twc-tv-android-update-with-live-tv-streaming-away-from-home-now/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

India Tour Packages Best Travel Destinations You Have Ever Seen

By: Smo Sami Travel A land that conjures images that stretch beyond the realms of fantasy. A vast canvass in vivid and myriad shades of passionate hues, India is a living museum waiting to be explored, felt and cherished. Uncover the magic of this great land with India-Tour-Packages, a division of Travel Pals (India) Pvt. Ltd. and is backed by a team having an experience spanning more than 30 man-years in the travel & tourism industry. Our expertise in packing the best deal for customer satisfaction is our plus point. Come let's discover Incredible India.

Discover India in a new light by availing the India tour packages of Sami World Travels. These packages to India make your travel easy and of your interest. You have option for adventure travel like trekking, gliding, and water rafting on Indian continent, there are specific locations that offer this and more. Wildlife tours give you glimpse of the animal territory that act as conservation centers. Tour packages for India also reach out to cultural aspects of the country with exclusive visit of forts, historical plazas, and World Heritage Sites. Packages from Indian also facilitate luxury train tours on Palace on Wheels, Golden Chariot, and Deccan Odyssey. Check out exclusive packages on Honeymoon Tour, India Tours, Golden Triangle Tours, Rajasthan Tours, Same Day Tours, Himachal Tour, Yoga Tour Packages, and Pilgrimage Tour Packages on Sami World Travels.

The cultural inheritance of India has always intrigued and attracted the world. The richness and the diversity of its cultural heritage and traditions has been popular in all ages across the world. Striking architecture, majestic royal palaces and their beauty has been an integral part of this heritage. Tourists from around the world have always patronized this royal art and India's cultural heritage. These royal architectures offer a deep insight into the bountiful past of the kings and queens of India.
If you are planning to visit India to take a look at the amazing and exotic locations, choose from several travel operators operating throughout the country. They readily offer custom made travel packages to suit your specific traveling requirements. Services offered by these tour operators include flight books, hotel bookings as per your choice and designing customized travel packages. Some of the best locations to visit during your India travel as Konark Temple, Elephanta caves, Khajuraho Temple, Ajanta Ellora Caves, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Fatehpur Sikri, Nalanda and many more. India Tour is not complete without a visit to the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It bespeaks of glorious past of Indian cultural heritage.

India Tours are often referred to as 'pocket-friendly travels' for the country provides innumerable ways to go light on travelers' pocket. However, here we are going to discuss ways to have a luxurious travel around the country for the convenience of those connoisseurs of luxury-living. Classy palace hotels to regal trains, exclusive cruises to secluded beaches, splendid Spa and VIP passage entries everything about luxurious tours to India is overwhelming and even outrageous sometimes.

India Tour Packages are an enthralling way to capture the captivating side of India. A country with a billion hearts is surely a tourists' paradise. India has a rich and vibrant past filled with historical delights. Diverse religious beliefs have paved way for varied cultures and corresponding traditions, languages, and cuisines. With around 30 UNESCO world heritage sites, you can simply imagine the cultural richness of this country. Above all, India is filled with this infectious energy that is bound to fascinate and overwhelm you. Spirituality and religion form inseparable parts of Indian lives. To truly live this eclectic melange of history, heritage, culture, religion and unparallel scenic sights, India tours are the best way.


About the Author:
Verma Ji is a traveler who likes to share his experiences. All the articles published by him will help you understand India better and answer all your holiday queries regarding India Tour, Golden Triangle Tour Package, Golden Triangle Tour 4 Days

Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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Mercedes Anti-Texting While Driving Ad - Business Insider

Ads Of The World

The Mercedes campaign features an autopsy on the letter of a text.

Texting is now the leading cause of teenage road-related deaths, and it is getting an influx of well-meaning ad dollars from car companies.?Mercedes-Benz released new ads that bank heavily on somber details of what could happen if you combine texting and driving.

Simple and eye-catching, the print ads feature letters, presumably from a cell phone text. The letters are being pulled apart by surgical tools, revealing human organs under a layer of flesh.

"Get the message?" read the captions. (Scroll down for the other image).

The meaning of the ads is clear as day ? text while you drive, and your autopsy could be sooner than you'd like.?

The campaign is by BBDO Lisbon.?

A similar campaign for Mini Cooper by agency Publicis in Mexico brought letters to life, giving them harrowing human-like injuries to prove the point. The letters were actually constructed and placed on sidewalks to gain attention.

The advertising trend towards raising awareness of this deadly practice is unlikely to stop.

A study by the Cohen Children's Medical Center in New York has found that texting while driving just surpassed drunk driving as the leading cause of teenage road deaths. Experts believe it's more dangerous than driving drunk because more people are likely to do it.

Here's the second Mercedes ad, blown up for full effect:

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/mercedes-anti-texting-while-driving-ad-2013-5

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Samsung Series 3 NP300E5E-A05CA


When shopping for a laptop, it's easy to find a PC that offers all of the necessary performance and features?it's find all that at an affordable price that's difficult. As affordable mainstream laptops go, the Samsung Series 3 NP300E5E-A05CA ($699), available in Canada, manages to balance the demands of performance and pricing fairly well, offering a laptop with solid performance at a reasonable price. While it's not perfect?the port selection could stand to gain a USB 3.0 port?the overall package is quite good, making it our Editors' Choice for mainstream laptops in this batch of Canadian systems.

Design
The Samsung Series 3 NP300E5E-A05CA measures 0.98 by 14.8 by 9.8 inches (HWD), with a silvery plastic lid and a matching plastic palmrest, both of which look a lot like brushed aluminum. The palmrest is textured with a dimpled pattern that matches the perforated speaker grill running along the top of the keyboard, and a similar pattern is seen on the glossy black bezel surrounding the display. The entire laptop weighs 4.85 pounds, which might be a bit too heavy to carry with you while traveling to work or school every day, but it's not so bulky that you'll be stuck in one place whenever you use it.

The 15.6-inch display has 1366-by-768 resolution, and though it's glass-covered, an anti-glare coating reduces reflections considerably. Joining the display are two 1.5-watt stereo speakers, offering decent volume and crisp, bright sound, but little to no bass.

The chiclet keyboard is full size, with a compact numeric pad, perfect for the occasional number crunching task, but the narrow keys may not be great for anyone who spends a lot of time in Excel. The accompanying touchpad, on the other hand, is wide and smooth to the touch, and offers support for Windows 8 gestures. Separate right and left mouse buttons mean that you won't have to deal with unresponsive or inaccurate clicking, but the buttons are a little stiff.

Features
The Samsung Series 3 has a fairly basic feature set, with three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and VGA output, an integrated card slot (SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC), a headset combo jack, and a tray-loading Super-Multi DVD +/-RW drive. While we would like to have seen at least one USB 3.0 port for faster data transfer when connecting an external drive, the ports that are present will still do the trick for most peripherals and flash drives.

An Ethernet port and 802.11n Wi-Fi will let you get on your network easily, while Bluetooth 4.0 provides a wireless connection for syncing your phone, or connecting some wireless peripherals. One welcome addition to the usual feature set is WiDi, Intel's wireless display, which lets you stream HD video to your TV through a receiver like the Netgear Push2TV.

The Samsung Series 3 offers plenty of storage space, thanks to a spacious 1TB 5,400 rpm hard drive. That's about as much as you'll find offered in any midrange 15-inch laptop, and offers plenty of space for all of your files, movies, music, etc. The Series 3 comes with Windows 8 (64-bit), which includes a dead-simple recovery utility, but it occupies a large chunk of the drive. Out of the box, you'll have 866GB available, with the remaining space taken up by the recovery partition and preinstalled software.

Included on the system is a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 11, giving you a fairly full set of photo-editing tools. A 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security provides some protection against viruses and malware, and Microsoft Office Starter 2010 offers limited versions of Word and PowerPoint served up with a side of Microsoft ads. For an ad-free experience with full functionality, you'll need to pay to upgrade to the full Office suite. You'll also get a few apps on the start screen (Amazon Kindle, Evernote, Jamie Oliver's Recipes, Netflix, Skype, StumbleUpon) and several proprietary apps and utilities from Samsung for media management and sharing (S-Player, S-Gallery, and S-Camera). Samsung also covers the Series 3 NP300E5E-A05CA with a one-year warranty.

Performance
Samsung Series 3 NP300E5E-A05CA The Samsung Series 3 stands out in the batch of Canadian systems we've reviewed, as it is equipped with a 2.6GHz Intel Core i5-3230M processor, a dual-core CPU paired with 8GB of memory that leads the category in terms of productive capability and raw processing power. In PCMark 7, it took the lead with 2,828 points?the closest competitor was the value-priced Lenovo IdeaPad N581 (2,573 points). Similarly, it took the lead in Cinebench, scoring 3.0 points, while competitors like the HP Pavilion M6-118-CA (2.04 points) and the Lenovo N581 (2.49 points) fell behind. In multimedia tests, the Series 3 continued to lead, completing Handbrake in 1 minute 11 seconds, and Photoshop CS6 in 4:35. The closest competitors were, again, the Lenovo N581 and the HP Pavilion M6-118-CA.

Samsung Series 3 NP300E5E-A05CA

Equipped with Intel's integrated graphics solution, the Samsung Series 3 will support all the web-browsing and apps expected to run on a mainstream system?as indicated by 3DMark 11 scores, 1,243 points at Entry setting and 2267 points at Extreme settings?but high-end gaming is out of the question. Though it ran our gaming tests, the Samsung was unable to produce playable scores in either Heaven or Alien vs. Predator. You will find this to be one area where AMD-equipped systems pulled ahead, but even the top scoring HP Envy M6-1188CA can't meet the 30 frames-per-second threshold that indicates playable performance.

We tested the Samsung Series 3's battery with our rundown battery life test, which involves playing a 24-hour looped video (All three Lord of the Rings films, extended cuts, looped back-to-back-to-back). In this test, the Samsung lasted 5 hours 11 minutes?less than the HP Envy M6-1188CA (5:59) but still longer than the Lenovo N581 (4:43), and the slim and portable Acer Aspire V5-571P-6627 (3:37).

The Samsung Series 3 NP300E5E-A05CA is an attractive, moderately priced mainstream laptop that offers solid performance and battery life without breaking the bank. While not perfect?I wish it had at least one USB 3.0 port?it's still a smart buy, making it our Editors' Choice for mainstream laptops in this batch of Canadian systems.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/dONHNTTYEbo/0,2817,2418840,00.asp

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Insight: Nigeria's Islamists staging bolder, deadlier comeback

By Tim Cocks

BAGA, Nigeria (Reuters) - After a crackdown pushed them out of Nigeria's northern cities, Islamist militant group Boko Haram have regrouped, rearmed and are staging a bold comeback that has already allowed them to seize control over parts of the northeast.

Using porous borders with Chad, Niger and Cameroon in the desolate scrubland around Lake Chad, they are smuggling bigger weapons, staging cross-border raids, killing and kidnapping in an escalation of violence that could further draw Nigeria's neighbors into its counter-insurgency fight, security officials say.

The Islamists now control at least 10 of the 27 local council areas in Borno state, Nigeria's most remote northeastern region on the edge of the Sahara and a relic of one of Africa's oldest medieval Islamic empires, security sources there say.

One says the real figure could be closer to 20, as local councilors fearing assassination have fled, leaving a power vacuum filled by bearded radicals with automatic rifles.

Boko Haram's struggle for an Islamic state has killed thousands since 2009 and is the main threat to Africa's top oil producer, although its fighters have so far not struck anywhere near the southern oil fields.

When Borno's governor Kassim Shettima briefed visiting senators and military advisers in a confidential security meeting on May 7, he said something that stunned them: Boko Haram were on the verge of seizing control of his state.

"What the governor said was frightening. He informed us there is a possibility that this state will be taken over by Boko Haram ... that they have the ability to do whatever they wanted here," senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi, a delegate and deputy majority leader for the ruling party, said after the meeting.

"I had thought Boko Haram had been subdued to some extent."

MOVEMENT IN FLUX

A wave of Islamic fervor took hold of northern Nigeria during an economic crisis in the early 1980s, triggering riots in the north's main city of Kano and later prompting many states to introduce Sharia law from 1999.

In 2002, a cleric called Mohammed Yusuf founded a radical Islamist movement in Borno, later nicknamed 'Boko Haram' or 'Western education is sinful' in the northern Hausa language because of its opposition to Western cultural influences.

A military crackdown during an uprising in 2009 led to the deaths of 800 people, including Yusuf, who died in police custody.

Far from being silenced, they struck back, first shooting or throwing bombs at police off the back of motorcycles, then graduating to increasingly sophisticated bomb-making technology.

By late last year it seemed the militants had been chased out of city centers and were losing the ability to carry out large-scale attacks, but Boko Haram have repeatedly proved masters of recovering from apparent defeat.

A coordinated strike by some 200 Boko Haram fighters on an army barracks, police station and prison in the town of Bama last week that left 55 people dead and freed more than 100 prisoners was the latest evidence that they have recovered their strength.

Initially funded by northern politicians who later distanced themselves from the militants, Boko Haram have forged growing links with Saharan Islamists such as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, giving them new access to funding and training.

LAWLESS LAKE

The road from Borno's capital Maiduguri to Lake Chad, where Niger, Chad, Nigeria and Cameroon join, cuts through a semi-desert landscape dotted with lonely trees and thatched straw hamlets.

In one village, a skinny old man herds goats across wind-swept sands while a woman in a purple hijab balances a jug on her head, not far from the ashen remains of a car bomb.

Further along, a man in a turban and flowing robes rides on horseback across an expanse of grayish sand, a flashback to the centuries past when Borno was a prosperous sultanate profiting from trade routes crossing the Sahara to the Mediterranean.

Save the odd military checkpoint, there are few signs of statehood here. Disused schools and council buildings decay in dry heat. A fisheries college that was abandoned last year after an attack killed some staff stands eerily empty.

Boko Haram, under the leadership of fiery, gun-toting militant Abubakar Shekau, is thought to be getting closer to achieving its dream of creating some kind of Islamic rule in the lawless areas around Lake Chad, where even the police have fled.

"They are now holding territory," Kole Shettima, chairman of the Centre for Democracy and Development, said. "The next step is to create institutions: justice, social services," as Malian Islamists did before the French forced them out of its cities.

The Bama attack showed their substantial firepower, including machine guns, large numbers of rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and pick-up trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns, a sign the weapons flood from the Libyan war that helped rebels seize parts of Mali last year has reached Nigeria, officials say.

"They're getting bolder, better armed, more organized. it's looking bleak," a security official in Maiduguri said.

The exact number of Boko Haram fighters is hard to estimate -- and the degree to which Shekau and the four main members of his 'Shura council' -- Habibu Yusuk, Khalis Albarnawai, Momodu Bama and Mohammed Zangina -- have control over them is unclear.

They rarely communicate with the press since their spokesman was killed last year, although Shekau sometimes uploads videos of himself making bellicose statements onto the web.

Security officials believe they have several hundred well armed and trained fighters and possibly thousands of members.

The army spokesman for Borno state, Lieutenant-Colonel Sagir Musa, denied that the group were staging a significant comeback, but he told Reuters they were moving in bigger numbers than before.

"KILLERS"

A military convoy rumbles into the remote fishing settlement of Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad, scene of fighting last month that killed dozens of people, many of them civilians.

As it weaves past the charred remains of ruined houses, locals shout abuse at soldiers in the Hausa language.

On April 16, Boko Haram militants armed with guns and RPGs killed a soldier on patrol, slicing his head off with an axe.

What happened next is disputed. Brigadier-General Austin Edokpayi, who heads a multinational force comprising 1,200 Nigerians, 700 Chadians and 300 troops from Niger charged with securing this volatile border area, said reinforcements arrived and met fierce resistance from entrenched Boko Haram gunmen.

Community leaders say the Boko Haram militants had already fled over the border into Chad by the time the soldiers arrived, who then exacted vengeance on the civilian population, shooting, setting fire to houses and killing 185 people.

Whatever the truth of what happened at Baga, Boko Haram's creeping establishment of a stronghold around Lake Chad is becoming a major headache for Nigeria and its neighbors.

"It has emboldened the terrorists," Edokpayi said, complaining that since most local government officials have fled, the military were effectively on their own. "They are eating deep into the ... sovereignty of the Nigerian state."

At one Baga village meeting in which elders complained of heavy handedness by Nigerian troops, an intelligence official told Reuters around half the attendees were Boko Haram members.

Many are poor, young men with little if any formal education and no job prospects in some of the poorest places on earth.

The group's ability to strike fear stems both from its secretiveness -- no one who isn't a member can be sure who is -- and its visibility in places where the state has withered.

"They are there for everybody to see. You can see them sitting in front of their houses, holding their guns," said a man near Baga fish market who gave his name only as Abubakar.

That Boko Haram is also a menace to other countries around the lake was highlighted in February when it kidnapped a French family of seven from a game park in north Cameroon, taking them over the border into Nigeria. They were freed in April.

The cross border threat is likely to prompt more joint operations. The multinational force was originally set up in 1998 to deal with marauding Chadian rebels, but last year was expanded to include anti Boko Haram operations.

Yet the insurgents' ability to melt away under military pressure and then come back has convinced many that only some kind of political solution will resolve the conflict.

President Goodluck Jonathan set up a body last month to formulate terms for an amnesty, like the one that helped silence militancy in the oil producing Niger Delta in 2009, but the Islamists showed no interest, with Shekau denouncing it.

And few think any peace can hold unless Jonathan's administration can address the underlying causes of insecurity -- the north's extreme poverty and unemployment.

In the meantime, Boko Haram's efforts to revive an Islamist theocracy in northeast Nigeria will cause more bloodshed yet.

(Editing by Giles Elgood)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insight-nigerias-islamists-staging-bolder-deadlier-comeback-072524212.html

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