A day before the Senate Finance Committee?s hearing on the Internal Revenue Service?s targeting of conservative groups, the committee is calling on the IRS to disclose additional information and documents by the end of the month.
?Targeting applicants for tax-exempt status using political labels threatens to undermine the public?s trust in the IRS. Lack of candor in advising the Senate of this practice is equally troubling,? committee chairman Max Baucus and ranking member Orrin Hatch wrote in a letter to acting IRS commissioner Steven Miller Monday.
The top Democrat and Republican on the committee then listed 41 detailed requests for documents and information related to the IRS targeting to be provided to the committee no later than May 31.
The document request includes, in part, all questions and information requests the IRS used to question 501(c)(3)-(6) applicants from February 2010 to the present. Those questions include requests for donor lists, volunteer lists, financial support and relationships with political candidates.
They further request other terms the IRS has used to target applications for additional scrutiny, the circumstances of how the IRS learned of the targeting and the names of individuals involved in the decision to target tax-exempt organizations and what officials knew what when and what these officials did in response.
Their request also seeks to get to the bottom of the tax information leaked to outside organizations, whether any of the action taken against conservative groups seeking non-profit status was due to requests by member of Congress or other elected officials, and a slew of detailed requests for explanations, records, memos, and other documents.
Tuesday Miller, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George, and former IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman.
May 21, 2013 ? Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke in early childhood are more likely to grow up to physically aggressive and antisocial, regardless of whether they were exposed during pregnancy or their parents have a history of being antisocial, according to Linda Pagani and Caroline Fitzpatrick of the University of Montreal and its affiliated CHU Sainte-Justine hospital. No study to date has controlled for these factors.
"Secondhand smoke is in fact more dangerous that inhaled smoke, and 40% of children worldwide are exposed to it. Moreover, exposure to this smoke at early childhood is particularly dangerous, as the child's brain is still developing," Pagani said. "I looked at data that was collected about 2,055 kids from their birth until ten years of age, including parent reports about secondhand smoke exposure and from teachers and children themselves about classroom behaviour. Those having been exposed to secondhand smoke, even temporarily, were much more likely to report themselves as being more aggressive by time they finished fourth grade."
The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health on May 21, 2013.
Given that it would be unethical to exposure children to secondhand smoke, Pagani relied on longitudinal data collected by Quebec health authorities from birth onward on an annual basis. Because parents went about raising their children while participating in the study, the data provided a natural experiment of variations in the child population of household smoke exposure throughout early childhood. Although no direct causal link can be determined, the statistical correlation suggests that secondhand smoke exposure does forecast deviant behavior in later childhood. The very detailed information collated for the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development enabled her to do something no other researcher has done to date: distinguish the unique contribution of secondhand smoke exposure on children's later deviant behavior. "Previous studies looking at groups of children have generally asked mothers whether they smoked or not, and how much at each follow-up, rather than asking whether someone smoked in the home where young children live and play," Dr. Pagani said. "Furthermore, few studies have looked at antisocial behaviour in the parents and even fewer have investigated the subsequent influence of prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke over the long term. None have taken into account the fact that disadvantaged families are less likely to participate in a long study like this one, which of course skews the statistics."
The statistics are backed by other biological studies into the effects of smoke on the brain. Secondhand smoke comprises 85% sidestream smoke emanated from a burning cigarette and 15% inhaled and then exhaled mainstream smoke. Sidestream smoke is considered more toxic than mainstream smoke because it contains a higher concentration of many dispersed respirable pollutants over a longer exposure period. "We know that the starvation of oxygen caused by smoke exposure in the developing central nervous system can cause low birth weight and slowed fetal brain growth," Dr. Pagani said. "Environmental sources of tobacco smoke represent the most passive and preventable cause of disease and disability. This study suggests that the postnatal period is important for the prevention of impaired neurobehavioral development and makes the case for the promotion of an unpolluted domestic environment for children."
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Universit? de Montr?al.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Linda S Pagani, Caroline Fitzpatrick. Prospective associations between early long-term household tobacco smoke exposure and antisocial behaviour in later childhood. J Epidemiol Community Health, 2013 DOI: 10.1136/jech-2012-202191
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Yahoo just announced that it has acquired New York startup Tumblr for $1.1 billion.
Addressing concerns from Tumblr users that Yahoo will ruin the blog network, the press release says the companies promise "not to screw it up."
"Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business. David Karp will remain CEO. The product, service and brand will continue to be defined and developed separately with the same Tumblr irreverence, wit, and commitment to empower creators."?
This is Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's first big acquisition since joining the company last July.
Here is her canned quote on the deal:
"Tumblr is redefining creative expression online. On many levels, Tumblr and Yahoo! couldn't be more different, but, at the same time, they couldn't be more complementary. Yahoo is the Internet's original media network. Tumblr is the Internet's fastest-growing media frenzy. Both companies are homes for brands - established and emerging. And, fundamentally, Tumblr and Yahoo! are both all about users, design, and finding surprise and inspiration amidst the everyday."
"I've long held the view that in all things art and design, you can feel the spirit and demeanor of the creator. That's why it was no surprise to me that David Karp is one of the nicest, most empathetic people I've ever met. He's also one of the most perceptive, capable entrepreneurs I've ever worked with. David's respect for Tumblr's community of creators is awesome. I'm absolutely delighted to have him join our team."
Here is Tumblr CEO David Karp's quote:
"Our team isn't changing. Our roadmap isn't changing. And our mission - to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve - certainly isn't changing. But we're elated to have the support of Yahoo! and their team who share our dream to make the Internet the ultimate creative canvas. Tumblr gets better faster with more resources to draw from."
Here is our analysis:?Why Yahoo's $1.1 Billion Tumblr Buy Is A Great Idea
Here is the release:
Yahoo! Inc.?and Tumblr announced today that they have reached a definitive agreement for Yahoo! to acquire Tumblr.
Per the agreement and our promise not to screw it up, Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business. David Karp will remain CEO. The product, service and brand will continue to be defined and developed separately with the same Tumblr irreverence, wit, and commitment to empower creators.
With more than 300 million monthly unique visitors and 120,000 signups every day, Tumblr is one of the fastest-growing media networks in the world. Tumblr sees 900 posts per second (!) and 24 billion minutes spent on site each month. On mobile, more than half of Tumblr's users are using the mobile app and do an average of 7 sessions per day. Its tremendous popularity and engagement among creators, curators and audiences of all ages brings a significant new community of users to the Yahoo! network. The combination of Tumblr+Yahoo! is expected to grow Yahoo!'s audience by 50 percent to more than a billion monthly visitors, and to grow traffic by approximately 20 percent.
The deal offers unique opportunities for both companies. Tumblr can deploy Yahoo!'s personalization technology and search infrastructure to help its users discover creators, bloggers, and content they'll love. In turn, Tumblr brings 50 billion blog posts (and 75 million more arriving each day) to Yahoo!'s media network and search experiences. The two companies will also work together to create advertising opportunities that are seamless and enhance the user experience.
Total consideration is approximately $1.1 billion, substantially all of which is payable in cash.
"Tumblr is redefining creative expression online," said Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer. "On many levels, Tumblr and Yahoo! couldn't be more different, but, at the same time, they couldn't be more complementary. Yahoo is the Internet's original media network. Tumblr is the Internet's fastest-growing media frenzy. Both companies are homes for brands - established and emerging. And, fundamentally, Tumblr and Yahoo! are both all about users, design, and finding surprise and inspiration amidst the everyday."
"I've long held the view that in all things art and design, you can feel the spirit and demeanor of the creator. That's why it was no surprise to me that David Karp is one of the nicest, most empathetic people I've ever met. He's also one of the most perceptive, capable entrepreneurs I've ever worked with," continued Mayer. "David's respect for Tumblr's community of creators is awesome. I'm absolutely delighted to have him join our team."
David Karp, CEO of Tumblr, addressed the Tumblr community, "Our team isn't changing. Our roadmap isn't changing. And our mission - to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve - certainly isn't changing. But we're elated to have the support of Yahoo! and their team who share our dream to make the Internet the ultimate creative canvas. Tumblr gets better faster with more resources to draw from."
The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the second half of the year.
Conference Call
Yahoo! will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time today to discuss this announcement. A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed through the company's Investor Relations website at http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/events.cfm?CalendarID=8. In addition, an archive of the webcast will be accessible for 90 days through the same link.
Didn't mother always tell you to play with your food?
[i] Well, there's no need to tell you we are vampires now, is there? Surely even a human like you has figured that out? Well then, you best come in and let me tell you about our little....arrangement. This is our house, or as we like to call it, Domus Saltus Mortuus. House of the Dead. Yes, yes it's cliche but mother was one for those. Here is our feeding room. Strictly blood giving only. Your cubicle is over there. If one of the vampires come in, you are to sit there and offer up that...thick...warm...mmmm. What was I saying? Oh, your cubicle. Yes, you must behave yourself little darling.
Here is your bedroom. Strictly yours. Vampires won't be able to come in here unless invited. But be warned, once they have been in once, they don't need to be invited again.
And here are the vampire bedrooms. You will be spending a lot of time in here...trust me. It's dark and slightly too cold, but don't worry. We'll keep you warm...
FILE - In this Friday, May 17, 2013, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks at Ellicott Dredges in Baltimore. President Barack Obama is delivering the commencement address at Morehouse College on Sunday, May 19, 2013, the historically black, all-male institution that counts Martin Luther King Jr. among its alumni. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
FILE - In this Friday, May 17, 2013, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks at Ellicott Dredges in Baltimore. President Barack Obama is delivering the commencement address at Morehouse College on Sunday, May 19, 2013, the historically black, all-male institution that counts Martin Luther King Jr. among its alumni. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
ATLANTA (AP) ? President Barack Obama is telling graduates of Morehouse College to take the power of their example ? as black men graduating from college ? and use it to improve people's lives.
He's asking those headed to law school to think about defending the poor, and those destined for medical school to consider treating people in communities without access to health care.
And he asked those with MBAs in their near future to think about how to put people to work or turn around a struggling neighborhood.
The president said graduates should inspire those who look up to them.
About 500 students were receiving undergraduate degrees from the historically black, all-male institution in Atlanta, becoming "Morehouse Men."
After the speech, Obama was to attend a Democratic Senate fundraiser, also in Atlanta.
Just three months after hacks by China?s People?s Liberation Army came to an abrupt halt, the country is once again attacking US targets reports the New York Times.
Whole-cell vaccine was more effective than acellular vaccine during CA pertussis outbreakPublic release date: 20-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Vincent Staupe vstaupe@golinharris.com 415-318-4386 Kaiser Permanente
OAKLAND, Calif., May 20, 2013 Whole-cell pertussis vaccines were more effective at protecting against pertussis than acellular pertussis vaccines during a large recent outbreak, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published in Pediatrics.
Whole-cell pertussis vaccines, also called DTwP, were available from the 1940s to 1990s, but were associated with safety concerns that ultimately led to the development of acellular pertussis vaccines, which are also called DTaP. By the late 1990s, the United States had switched from whole-cell to acellular vaccines for all five recommended infant and childhood doses.
The study, which followed the 2010-2011 pertussis outbreak in California, examined 10- to 17-year-olds who received the recommended four pertussis-containing vaccines. The researchers evaluated the risk of pertussis during the outbreak according to the number of whole-cell and/or acellular pertussis vaccines these participants had received as infants and toddlers.
Despite high levels of vaccine coverage, pertussis epidemics have arisen every three to five years since the 1980s, with progressively higher incidence rates over time. "Studies have suggested that protection following the acellular pertussis vaccine is less enduring than following the whole-cell pertussis vaccine," said lead author Nicola Klein, MD, PhD, co-director of the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center and a pediatrician. "Although reasons for the recurrent pertussis outbreaks are complex, waning protection following five doses of acellular pertussis vaccine plays a central role, at least in recent epidemics."
The study included 138 individuals with confirmed pertussis, 899 individuals who had a lab test indicating they did not have pertussis, and 54,339 individuals who were similar to those with confirmed pertussis on sex, race/ethnicity, medical clinic, and membership status.
Increased number of acellular doses from zero to four was significantly associated with an increasing percent of positive pertussis tests. On average, individuals had a 40 percent increased risk of pertussis for each additional acellular dose received (as compared to receipt of a DTwP dose) between ages 1-24 months.
Teenagers who were vaccinated with four doses of acellular vaccines were at almost six times higher risk of pertussis than were those who had received four doses of whole-cell vaccines. Persons who received mixed whole-cell and acellular vaccines had an intermediate level of risk between those who received all whole-cell or all acellular vaccines. Those who received mixed vaccines were at nearly four times higher risk of pertussis than were those who received all whole-cell vaccines.
Earlier studies by Kaiser Permanente have shown that protection from the fifth dose of acellular pertussis vaccine wanes substantially during the five years after vaccination among children 4 to 12 years of age who have only received the acellular vaccine. The current study included only individuals born in 1999 or earlier, for whom at least five years had passed since receipt of the fifth pertussis vaccine.
Since 2005, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended boosting with reduced antigen content acellular pertussis vaccine, also known as Tdap, for persons 11 years and older. The study found that a booster dose of Tdap did not overcome the advantage in protection from pertussis seen among those who had received four doses of the whole-cell vaccine.
"The results indicate that a booster dose of Tdap does not overcome the advantage in protection from pertussis afforded to those who previously received four doses of the whole-cell vaccine," Dr. Klein said. "Despite this, boosting the newly emerging cohort of acellular pertussis vaccine-only teenagers with Tdap remains the best means currently available to help protect this group against disease."
Studies demonstrate that whole-cell and acellular pertussis vaccines administered to infants trigger different immune responses that at least partially persist through the teenage years, but long-term clinical consequences of such differences have been unknown. The results of this study, the researchers said, suggest that variations in immune responses induced by primary immunization during infancy play a central role in protection from disease years later. Additionally, the study highlights the need for new pertussis vaccines that provide both an improved safety profile and long lasting immunity.
###
Additional authors on the study include Joan Bartlett, MPH, MPP; Bruce Fireman, MA; Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, MD, MPH, PhD; and Roger Baxter, MD, of Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Northern California.
This research was supported by funding from Kaiser Permanente.
About the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research
The Kaiser Permanente Division of Research conducts, publishes and disseminates epidemiologic and health services research to improve the health and medical care of Kaiser Permanente members and the society at large. It seeks to understand the determinants of illness and well-being and to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. Currently, DOR's 600-plus staff is working on more than 250 epidemiological and health services research projects. For more information, visit http://www.dor.kaiser.org.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 9.1 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/newscenter.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Whole-cell vaccine was more effective than acellular vaccine during CA pertussis outbreakPublic release date: 20-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Vincent Staupe vstaupe@golinharris.com 415-318-4386 Kaiser Permanente
OAKLAND, Calif., May 20, 2013 Whole-cell pertussis vaccines were more effective at protecting against pertussis than acellular pertussis vaccines during a large recent outbreak, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published in Pediatrics.
Whole-cell pertussis vaccines, also called DTwP, were available from the 1940s to 1990s, but were associated with safety concerns that ultimately led to the development of acellular pertussis vaccines, which are also called DTaP. By the late 1990s, the United States had switched from whole-cell to acellular vaccines for all five recommended infant and childhood doses.
The study, which followed the 2010-2011 pertussis outbreak in California, examined 10- to 17-year-olds who received the recommended four pertussis-containing vaccines. The researchers evaluated the risk of pertussis during the outbreak according to the number of whole-cell and/or acellular pertussis vaccines these participants had received as infants and toddlers.
Despite high levels of vaccine coverage, pertussis epidemics have arisen every three to five years since the 1980s, with progressively higher incidence rates over time. "Studies have suggested that protection following the acellular pertussis vaccine is less enduring than following the whole-cell pertussis vaccine," said lead author Nicola Klein, MD, PhD, co-director of the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center and a pediatrician. "Although reasons for the recurrent pertussis outbreaks are complex, waning protection following five doses of acellular pertussis vaccine plays a central role, at least in recent epidemics."
The study included 138 individuals with confirmed pertussis, 899 individuals who had a lab test indicating they did not have pertussis, and 54,339 individuals who were similar to those with confirmed pertussis on sex, race/ethnicity, medical clinic, and membership status.
Increased number of acellular doses from zero to four was significantly associated with an increasing percent of positive pertussis tests. On average, individuals had a 40 percent increased risk of pertussis for each additional acellular dose received (as compared to receipt of a DTwP dose) between ages 1-24 months.
Teenagers who were vaccinated with four doses of acellular vaccines were at almost six times higher risk of pertussis than were those who had received four doses of whole-cell vaccines. Persons who received mixed whole-cell and acellular vaccines had an intermediate level of risk between those who received all whole-cell or all acellular vaccines. Those who received mixed vaccines were at nearly four times higher risk of pertussis than were those who received all whole-cell vaccines.
Earlier studies by Kaiser Permanente have shown that protection from the fifth dose of acellular pertussis vaccine wanes substantially during the five years after vaccination among children 4 to 12 years of age who have only received the acellular vaccine. The current study included only individuals born in 1999 or earlier, for whom at least five years had passed since receipt of the fifth pertussis vaccine.
Since 2005, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended boosting with reduced antigen content acellular pertussis vaccine, also known as Tdap, for persons 11 years and older. The study found that a booster dose of Tdap did not overcome the advantage in protection from pertussis seen among those who had received four doses of the whole-cell vaccine.
"The results indicate that a booster dose of Tdap does not overcome the advantage in protection from pertussis afforded to those who previously received four doses of the whole-cell vaccine," Dr. Klein said. "Despite this, boosting the newly emerging cohort of acellular pertussis vaccine-only teenagers with Tdap remains the best means currently available to help protect this group against disease."
Studies demonstrate that whole-cell and acellular pertussis vaccines administered to infants trigger different immune responses that at least partially persist through the teenage years, but long-term clinical consequences of such differences have been unknown. The results of this study, the researchers said, suggest that variations in immune responses induced by primary immunization during infancy play a central role in protection from disease years later. Additionally, the study highlights the need for new pertussis vaccines that provide both an improved safety profile and long lasting immunity.
###
Additional authors on the study include Joan Bartlett, MPH, MPP; Bruce Fireman, MA; Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, MD, MPH, PhD; and Roger Baxter, MD, of Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Northern California.
This research was supported by funding from Kaiser Permanente.
About the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research
The Kaiser Permanente Division of Research conducts, publishes and disseminates epidemiologic and health services research to improve the health and medical care of Kaiser Permanente members and the society at large. It seeks to understand the determinants of illness and well-being and to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. Currently, DOR's 600-plus staff is working on more than 250 epidemiological and health services research projects. For more information, visit http://www.dor.kaiser.org.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 9.1 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/newscenter.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Microsoft will introduce its contestant for the next generation of the video game console wars next week.
It's like a seven-year storm: High-pressure fronts from Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft come together creating high winds and stormy seas, with the world's gamers sitting ? and grinning ? right in the eye of it all. Yes, the next console war is on.
Nintendo started it. Last November, the House of Mario released the quasi-next-generation Wii U console to middling results. Sony made the next move, officially announced the next PlayStation system in February, promising it for the 2013 holidays. But nobody outside of the company even knows what the device looks like, much less what it will cost.
The Internet has been devouring itself with hype and rumors about the next Xbox, but Microsoft itself has barely made a sound. Finally, on May 21, the company will reveal its game plan ? and hopefully the system itself.
While it's not clear what it will be called, the three leading contenders are "Xbox Infinity," the painfully logical "Xbox 720" and the minimalist "Xbox." The rumor mill's consensus has settled around a few key features ? compatibility with Blu-ray, social-media integration, revamped motion control that builds on the Xbox 360's wildly successful Kinect add-on. The system is likely to have integrated Skype video chat as well, since Microsoft owns it. Controversially, the device is also expected to feature some kind of "always-online" requirement, meaning that users will need a stable Internet connection to access both gaming and non-gaming content.
Though there has been discussion about Microsoft also building an "Xbox TV" set-top box, it seems that the company is focusing, for now, on turning the new game console into an entertainment hub, one that can connect to cable boxes, and also feature original content. Microsoft has been tight-lipped about what's coming from its first-party entertainment studio, but the very existence of such an operation shows that it wants to better compete with Amazon and Netflix, which both offer non-broadcast shows.
Stacking up Will these new features be enough to keep Xbox competitive with its peers? Sony hasn't said much about entertainment features in its PlayStation 4. And while the company is championing social features ? even adding a "Share" button into the PS4 controller ? it didn't go into details of motion control. Instead, Sony is highlighting its starting line-up of AAA and indie games.
Microsoft will be talking up games as well. Activision has teased the fact that it will reveal the next title in its juggernaut "Call of Duty" franchise alongside the new Xbox. Meanwhile, rumor has it that Microsoft may have an exclusive deal with EA's upcoming "Call of Duty" rival "Titan."
Sony
Sony unveiled the PlayStation 4 this past February. While the company spent a lot of time showing off its redesigned controller, it still hasn't let anybody know what the actual console box is going to look like.
Both Sony and Nintendo have larger fleets of in-house studios to turn out original and exclusive games, which could leave Microsoft scrambling to find the next "Halo." But whatever the case, experts say Microsoft has a large enough install base to court any serious console developer.
"The biggest challenge this time is that Microsoft isn't getting a head start on Sony. And the second biggest one is that they're highly likely not getting a big price advantage over Sony," Michael Pachter, a prominent game industry analyst at Wedbush Securities, told NBC News. "Their advantage last time was that Sony was a year late, and the PS3 was $200 more expensive."
In 2005, Microsoft released the Xbox 360 a year before the Wii or PlayStation 3 hit shelves. Microsoft also priced its console much lower than the PS3. That advantage kept Xbox 360 sales a nose ahead of PlayStation 3's until just last winter, when they caught up overall. Now, it sounds like both consoles are coming out at the same time ? possibly even on the same week ? and are likely to be priced the same.
Pachter said that the only thing that might drive the new Xbox's price higher than the PS4's would be a mandatory Kinect add-on in every box, which he thinks would bump up the cost by $50. Otherwise, he said the two devices have "similar architecture" that would make them "comparably priced."
"We don't know about the Xbox yet, but if they both have this AMD chipset ? essentially the same power and the same graphics capability ? then they're both spending about the same to make their boxes. What else in the box really has cost?" Pachter also thinks the systems will have "big-ass hard drives," in the 1- to 2-terabyte range.
Oh, Nintendo Pachter said that since Microsoft and Sony make remarkably "similar products competing for similar users," he doubted that either one would best each other in any substantive way. Rather, both stand to gain from the comparative weakness of Nintendo's faltering Wii U.
Nintendo's oddball inventions haven't always been an Achilles heel. Although the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sold 76 million and 77 million consoles total worldwide by December 2012, according to an IDC report, Nintendo Wii blew both its competitors out of the water with 99.84 million units sold as of March 2013. Alas, Nintendo's streak is not likely to continue.
Nintendo
Nintendo was the first of the "big three" console developers to release a new console with the Wii U. Being the first to the punch hasn't done Nintendo any favors, though.
Game exclusivity, Nintendo's strong suit, can only take a console so far. Nintendo had the strongest brands known to the game industry behind the Wii U, and industry commentators have still written it off as a failure. Just last week, a developer at DICE all but dismissed the possibility of bringing any of its new games (including the wildly popular "Battlefield" franchise and any new "Star Wars" games that will come out of EA's recent partnership with Disney) to the Wii U.
Mario and Luigi can certainly help a new console get off the ground as they have many, many times for Nintendo, but they can't carry it for five to seven years. And given the sheer silliness of the Wii U's controllers, Microsoft could easily dominant motion-controlled gaming hardware with the Kinect alone.
"It's pretty obvious that Nintendo is going to sell fewer consoles this cycle," Pachter said.
Microsoft's main competition, then, will come from Sony's PlayStation 4, and once again gamers might be split pretty evenly. "If the next cycle is 300 million consoles, and Sony and Microsoft go from selling 85 million each to 110 million each, they're gonna be pretty happy about it," Pachter said.
The main question for gamers trying to choose between the two devices will mostly likely come down to which console has more of the games they want ? and more of their friends playing those games. Some people might be turned off by excessively draconian digital rights management, or wooed by better home entertainment options. But if pricing is even, the games are the thing.
Yannick LeJacq is a contributing writer for NBC News who has also covered games for Kill Screen, The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic. You can follow him on Twitter at @YannickLeJacq and reach him by email at: ylejacq@gmail.com.
By Alasdair and Fotheringham CHERASCO, Italy, May 17 - A series of small but challenging climbs late on Friday's stage of the 2012 Giro d'Italia could not stop Britain's Mark Cavendish taking his fourth stage win and second in two days. Italy's Vincenzo Nibali remained overall leader but it was sprinter Cavendish who stole the show again after compatriot and pre-race favorite Bradley Wiggins failed to start the 254 kilometer stage, the longest in this year's Giro. In a bunch sprint finish Cavendish outgunned Italy's Giacomo Nizzolo and Slovenia's Luka Mezgec. ...
Mark Suster of Los Angeles' GRP Partners is known for his unique insights on the tech and digital media worlds, having famously had success on "both sides of the table" as a repeat entrepreneur turned investor over more than a decade in the industry. And he hit headlines several times this week, with his viewpoints on acqui-hires (he says they're often very bad) and founders stepping down from the CEO role (he says sometimes, it's the best thing that can happen.)
To find the planet, astronomers used Einstein's theory as it pertains to the intensity of a beam of light. The method could add more exoplanets to a growing list, no 'wobble' or 'transit' required.
By Pete Spotts,?Staff writer / May 14, 2013
Kepler space telescope is designed to search for Earth-like planets in the Milky Way galaxy. The telescope has been in space since 2009, but scientists keep finding new ways to use it ? even using special relativity ? to find extra-solar planets.
Courtesy of NASA / AP
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With a little help from Einstein's theory of special relativity, astronomers have discovered a planet orbiting a star some 2,000 light-years away using a new approach that was barely a gleam in its proposers' eyes a decade ago.
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The planet is a bit larger and about twice as massive as Jupiter. It orbits its sun-like star once every 1.5 days. The team making the discovery estimates the planet's temperature at a searing 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit.
On one level, such "hot Jupiters" are a dime a dozen these days. Because they are massive and close to their host stars, they are the easiest planets to spot with virtually every planet-hunting technique astronomers have used to date.
What sets this discovery apart, however, is that the planet is the first to have been found through a process that in some ways could simplify planet hunting, researchers say. Its effectiveness is limited to big planets orbiting close to their stars, the team reporting the discovery acknowledges.
But it also holds out the hope of finding such planets when the parent stars may be too faint for other, currently used techniques. This opens the possibility of adding many more extra-solar planets to a catalog that now tops 800 of them.
No need to hunt for the wobble a planet's gravity imparts to its star's spectrum. No need to wait for a planet to pass in front of its star, known as a transit.
Instead, the team looked for a combination of three relatively small effects that wax and wane throughout a planet's orbit around a star. This delivers a different signal to a planet-hunting device like NASA's Kepler spacecraft than the eclipsing planet, or transit method, delivers, notes David Latham, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and a member of the team discovering the planet.
"The transits last just a short time, just a couple of hours," Dr. Latham writes in an e-mail. But the effects the team tracked "rise and fall continuously through the entire orbital period of the planet, roughly 36 hours, so it?s not hard to distinguish these phenomena."
And it can detect planets that don't transit their stars.
The approach was conceived 10 years ago by Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb and Scott Gaudi, now an assistant professor of astronomy at The Ohio State University in Columbus, who took a cue from Albert Einstein.
One prediction of Einstein's theory of special relativity is that when an object is moving at a pace close to the speed of light, any light it emits appears more intense along the object's line of motion, forming a beam. To an observer watching the object approach, the light looks brighter than it would if the object were stationary.
The effect is most pronounced in powerful astronomical events such as gamma-ray bursts, in which matter emitting the gamma rays is accelerated to 99.9 percent of the speed of light, Dr. Loeb explains.
Indeed, to an astronomer looking directly into the beam, the effect can lead to the illusion that the light is traveling faster than its 186,000-mile a second speed limit. Such beams emanate from the poles of supermassive black holes that have gone on feeding binges. Researchers call them superluminal jets.
Washington tax lawyer Celia Roady acknowledged that at the behest of the IRS, she asked a question at a May 10 conference that would ignite the controversy over inappropriate targeting of conservative groups.
Four days before a damning Inspector General's report was due to be released, the IRS wanted to get out ahead and potentially defuse some of the backlash.?
Roady serves on the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax-Exempt and Government Entities. She?asked the planted question to Lois Lerner, the IRS' director of the tax-exempt division. Within minutes, it sparked shock and a firestorm that the IRS had revealed it inappropriately targeted certain groups, particularly with the words "Tea Party" and "patriot" in their title.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, the firm that employs Roady, released a statement on her behalf explaining her role in asking the question:
?On May 9, I received a call from Lois Lerner, who told me that she wanted to address an issue after her prepared remarks at the ABA Tax Section?s Exempt Organizations Committee Meeting, and asked if I would pose a question to her after her remarks.? I agreed to do so, and she then gave me the question that I asked at the meeting the next day. We had no discussion thereafter on the topic of the question, nor had we spoken about any of this before I received her call. She did not tell me, and I did not know, how she would answer the question.?
Outgoing Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller confirmed during testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday that the question had been planted.
That led to intense questioning from members of Congress, who wondered why Lerner did not reveal the news during testimony before the committee on May 8, two days before the conference.?
Miller said that the plan had been to simultaneously notify Congress after Lerner's public admission, but acknowledged that "didn't happen."
"She has been directly involved in this matter," Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) said on Friday. "She failed to disclose what she knew to this committee, choosing instead to do so at an ABA conference two days later.
May 17, 2013 ? Materials belonging to the family of dilute magnetic oxides (DMOs) -- an oxide-based variant of the dilute magnetic semiconductors -- are good candidates for spintronics applications. This is the object of study for Davide Sangalli of the Microelectronics and Microsystems Institute (IMM) at the National Research Council (CNR), in Agrate Brianza, Italy, and colleagues.
They recently explored the effect of iron (Fe) doping on thin films of a material called zirconia (ZrO2 oxide). For the first time, the authors bridged the gap between the theoretical predictions and the experimental measurements of this material, in a paper about to be published inThe European Physical Journal B.
Spintronics exploit an intrinsic property of the electrons found in semi-conductors called spin, akin to the electrons' degree of freedom. This determines the magnetic characteristics, known as magnetic moment, of the material under study. The challenge is to create such material with the highest possible temperature, as this will ensure that its magnetic properties can be used in room-temperature applications.
To study iron-doped zirconia, they examined its magnetic properties and its electronic structure from both a theoretical and experimental perspective. They then compared theory and experiments to find the most stable configuration of the material. Theoretical work included first-principles simulations. In parallel, their experimental work relied on many different well-established analytical techniques, including X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and alternating gradient force magnetometer measurements.
Sangalli and colleagues therefore gained a better understanding of doped zirconia, which features oxygen vacancies, playing a crucial role in providing its unique electronic and magnetic characteristics. They have also predicted theoretically how the deviation from the standard structure influences this material's properties. They are currently investigating, experimentally, how the magnetism evolves with changing concentrations of iron and oxygen vacancies to confirm theoretical predictions.
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Journal Reference:
Davide Sangalli, Elena Cianci, Alessio Lamperti, Roberta Ciprian, Franca Albertini, Francesca Casoli, Pierpaolo Lupo, Lucia Nasi, Marco Campanini, Alberto Debernardi. Exploiting magnetic properties of Fe doping in zirconia. The European Physical Journal B, 2013; 86 (5) DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2013-30669-3
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
LONDON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has reported another case of infection in a concentrated outbreak of a new strain of a virus that emerged in the Middle East last year and spread into Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday.
In a disease outbreak update issued from its Geneva headquarters, the WHO said the latest patient is an 81-year-old woman with multiple medical conditions. She became ill on April 28 and is in a critical but stable condition.
Worldwide, there have now been 41 laboratory-confirmed infections, including 20 deaths, since the new coronavirus was identified by scientists in September 2012.
The novel coronavirus, which had been known as by the acronym nCoV but which some scientific journals now refer to as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, or MERS, belongs to the same family as viruses that cause common colds and the one that caused a deadly outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003.
MERS cases have so far been reported in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Britain, Germany and France, but Saudi Arabia has had the vast majority of cases.
The WHO said that latest patient was in the same clinic in eastern Saudi Arabia that has seen 22 cases, nine of them fatal, since April 8.
WHO experts visiting Saudi Arabia to consult with the authorities on the outbreak have said it seemed likely the new virus could be passed between humans, but only after prolonged, close contact.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
The gang dines and discusses throwing a party for Leonard.
Live long and prosper, Leonard Hofstadter! OK, that may be a little bit of a dramatic farewell, but the gang of "The Big Bang Theory" did say goodbye to him on Thursday's season finale -- though it was just a temporary adios.
As the sixth season of CBS' hit comedy came to a close, the experimental physicist (Johnny Galecki) left to join Stephen Hawking's team on the North Sea for a few months, and naturally, the gang had to throw a farewell party for their pal. But at the shindig, Raj (Kunal Nayyar) was dumped via text by his new lady friend. (Beats getting dumped on a Post-It note, right?!) As sad as that was, it led the tongue-tied astrophysicist to discover that he no longer needed alcohol to talk to women. Good for Raj, bad for the girls. (As Amy said so succinctly in the closing moments, "Does he ever shut up?!")
Though the zingers came fast and furiously from many of the core characters throughout the episode, it was -- as usual -- Sheldon (Jim Parsons) who delivered the best. (Anything else would defy logic, as Sheldon might say.) Here are some of our favorites:
"I used to be uncomfortable around people, then I learned a trick: I pretend everyone I meet is a beloved character from 'Star Trek.' ... (It's) working like a charm, unnamed crewman in a red shirt!" -- to Leonard, while lunching with the guys.
"Should a guy with no name and a red shirt really go on an expedition?!" -- to Leonard, after hearing about his opportunity to join the North Sea expedition.
"No one asked you, Uhura!" -- to Raj, after Raj chimed in on Leonard's big opportunity.
"Leonard you?re being selfish. We need to give you a send-off so we'll have closure when you die at sea and crabs eat your face." -- while discussing Leonard's party during dinner with the gang at home.
"It?s not that big of an opportunity. Even if Hawking's theories are correct, all they prove is where the universe came from, why everything exists and what its ultimate end will be. Me? I?m interested in the big questions!" -- to Penny, while shopping for Leonard's going-away party.
"I?m not jealous. I?m just very unhappy that things are happening for him and not happening for me!" -- againto Penny, while shopping for Leonard's going-away party.
"It did not kill me when you went to space. MONKEYS went to space!" -- to Howard (Simon Helberg), who said it must've killed Sheldon when Howard went to the International Space Station at the end of season five.
"Penny, we?re in the red zone. You see, the white zone is for loading and unloading. We?re breaking the law. ... OK, you have to get out of the car right now. I?m not going to jail for you. ... Oh dear lord, a police officer glancing in our direction. We?ve been made! Don?t worry, officer, they just love each other, we?re not smuggling drugs!" -- while with Penny, dropping off Leonard at the airport and apparently parked illegally.
What was your favorite line from Sheldon? What did you think of the finale? Share your thoughts by clicking on "Talk about it" below!
Colleges offer discounts as enrollments fall short, according to Forbes report. Among the colleges still seeking students for the fall term: Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, the University of Maryland, College Park, The New School in New York City, and Arizona State University in Tempe.
By Andrea Burzynski,?Reuters / May 16, 2013
Students listen to President Obama at a rall on the campu of the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., in 2009. The university is one of nearly 300 colleges still accepting students for the fall. In many cases, colleges offer discounts to fill their classes.
Larry Downing/Reuters/File
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Many leading U.S. colleges and universities face a shortfall in enrollment for fall classes and will offer price discounts as they compete for students in an ever expanding higher education market, according to Forbes.
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The magazine highlighted 50 public and private U.S. colleges listed in the Princeton Review's "Best Colleges" list that are still accepting students in their 2013 freshman classes.
In their scramble to fill empty seats, colleges are likely to offer significant tuition discounts in the form of grants in a type of free market pricing that goes on behind the scenes, Forbes said.
"There are many more colleges in the United States than is economically viable," wrote Matt Schifrin, managing editor of investing content at Forbes Media. "Many colleges make deals with families, offering significant rebates to their advertised prices."
One year to the day of the troubled Facebook IPO, the climate for tech IPOs in the public markets is significantly less stormy, especially for companies in the enterprise space. Today, not one but two, Tableau Software and Marketo, are debuting on New York stock exchanges. Business intelligence provider Tableau Software, trading as "DATA", is one of the more highly anticipated tech IPOs of the year, and so far it has not disappointed. It priced its IPO at $31 per share, and it , popped 58% in early trading,?and closed at 64% above opening price, or $50.75/share.
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Man uses machine in science lab to make illicit substance.
If that sounds like a pitch for the hit AMC television show Breaking Bad, it's also a pretty fair description of a real-life crime that unfolded recently at a top university in England -- only the English case involved a lab tech and cocaine instead of a high school chemistry teacher and methamphetamine.
The man at the center of it all, Timothy Newbury, was until recently a technician in a University of Bristol physics lab. On December 27, 2012, he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply after the police discovered more than $15,000 of the contraband in his car, Tom Morris, a reporter with the Bristol Post, told The Huffington Post in an email.
Newbury and an accomplice, Nicholas Avery, were suspected of using a hydraulic press in the lab to form cocaine into blocks, the Daily Mail reported. Video surveillance shows the duo entering the lab prior to being arrested.
"In effect the Crown says there was a cutting workshop at Mr. Avery's home and a pressing workshop at the university which was operated by Mr. Newbury," prosecutor Kenneth Bell said in court when the duo were sentenced May 10, 2013, the Bristol Post reported.
Newbury will spend 18 months in jail, the Bristol Post reported. Avery faces five years -- he pled guilty to an additional possession charge after police found cocaine worth $300,000 in his home.
This coming?weekend is a big one for?Saturday Night Live. It marks the end of Bill Hader's tenure on the show and Ben Affleck's fifth time hosting. But perhaps the most significant reason to tune in is the fact that Kanye West is the musical guest, and he's making it seem like he really, really doesn't want to be. With West's apparent frustration with the show and his penchant for, shall we say ... off-the-cuff remarks, producers should be worried and we should be excited. Is there a better combo than that?
Niger Innis, National Outreach Director, TheTeaParty.net, speaks during a news conference with Tea Party leaders about the IRS targeting Tea Party groups, Thursday, May 16, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
Niger Innis, National Outreach Director, TheTeaParty.net, speaks during a news conference with Tea Party leaders about the IRS targeting Tea Party groups, Thursday, May 16, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
Tom Zawistowki, founder of the nonprofit Ohio Liberty Coalition, center, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 16, 2013, with Tea Party leaders to discuss the IRS targeting Tea Party groups. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., chair of the Tea Party Caucus, is at left, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. is at right. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., accompanied by Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., chair of the Tea Party Caucus, left, and others, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 16, 2013, to discuss the IRS targeting Tea Party groups. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., chairwoman of the Tea Party Caucus, listens at left as while Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks during a news conference with Tea Party leaders about the IRS targeting Tea Party groups, Thursday, May 16, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Lawmakers are ready to question the ousted head of the Internal Revenue Service as Congress holds its first hearing on the tougher scrutiny the IRS gave tea party and other conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status.
With the scandal joining the parade of political headaches buffeting President Barack Obama, the Republican-run House Ways and Means Committee planned to question the agency's ousted chief, Steven Miller, on Friday.
Miller, acting director until he resigned Wednesday, seems sure to get a hostile reception from the committee. Members of both parties have spent the past week bitterly chastising the agency for abandoning its charge of making nonpolitical decisions about which groups should qualify for tax-exempt status, which makes it easier for them to collect contributions from donors.
Lawmakers also have said that despite asking the IRS repeatedly about complaints from conservative groups that their applications were being treated unfairly, the agency ? including Miller ? never told them the groups were being targeted, even after May 2012, when the agency said Miller was briefed on the practice. Miller was previously a deputy commissioner whose portfolio included the unit that made decisions about tax-exempt status.
Also testifying Friday was J. Russell George, the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration.
A report George issued this week concluded that the IRS office in Cincinnati, which screened applications for the tax exemptions, improperly singled out tea party and other conservative groups for tougher treatment. The report says the practice began in March 2010 and lasted more than 18 months.
Republicans have spent the past few days trying to link the IRS' improper scrutiny of conservatives to Obama. The president has said he didn't know about the targeting until last Friday, when Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt groups, acknowledged at a legal conference that conservative groups had been singled out. She said it was wrong and apologized.
"I promise you this, that the minute I found out about it, then my main focus was making sure that we get the thing fixed," Obama said Thursday.
Even so, less than four months into his second term, the president has been on the defensive for the IRS controversy, along with questions about last September's attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, and the government's seizure of The Associated Press' telephone records as part of a leaks investigation.
In one of the latest GOP attacks, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, wrote Obama on Thursday asking whether the White House or Treasury Department pressured the IRS on the treatment of conservative groups. In the letter, Portman accused the administration of "policies that threaten to chill disfavored political speech."
The inspector general's report said all IRS officials questioned said their actions "were not influenced by any individual or organization outside the IRS."
The report blamed "ineffective management" for letting IRS officials craft "inappropriate criteria" to review applications from tea party and other conservative groups, based on their names or political views. It found that the IRS took no action on many of the conservative groups' applications for tax-exempt status for long periods of time, hindering their fundraising for the 2010 and 2012 elections.
Many of the groups were applying for tax-exempt status as social welfare organizations, which are allowed to participate in campaign activity if that is not their primary activity. The IRS judges whether that imprecise standard is met.
Friday's hearing was just the start of Congress' probe of the IRS' actions, with the Senate Finance and House Oversight committees planning hearings next week.
In addition, Attorney General Eric Holder has said the FBI was investigating whether the IRS may have violated applicants' civil rights.
Obama has rejected the idea of naming a special prosecutor to investigate the episode, saying Thursday that the probes by Congress and the Justice Department would get to the bottom of who was responsible.
Obama has named Daniel Werfel, a top White House budget officer, to replace Miller.
Also Thursday, Joseph Grant, one of Miller's top deputies, announced plans to retire June 3, according to an internal IRS memo. Grant is commissioner of the agency's tax exempt and government entities division, which includes the agents that targeted tea party groups for additional scrutiny.
Grant joined the IRS in 2005 and took over as acting commissioner of the tax exempt and government entities division in December 2010. He was just named the permanent commissioner May 8.
When asked whether Grant was pressured to leave, IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge said Grant had more than 31 years of federal service and it was his personal decision to leave.
Before he joined the IRS, Grant was a top official at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
Grant's predecessor at the IRS was Sarah Hall Ingram, who is now director of the agency's Affordable Care Act Office. Ingram was in charge of the tax exempt division when IRS agents first started targeting conservative groups.
The IRS said Ingram was assigned to help the agency implement the health care law in December 2010, about six months before the Treasury inspector general's report said her subordinate, the director of exempt organizations, learned about the targeting.
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Public release date: 20-May-2013
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One year to the day of the