Climate Change Could Delay Fall Foliage Colors [Video]

It?s that time again: time to take a hike and enjoy the splendid fall foliage. Or, if you live in a tourist town like I do, time to see ?leaf peepers? driving their cars aimlessly throughout the countryside searching for a stand of incredibly red maples or golden oaks. If climate change continues on its present course, however, you might want to mark future calendars a bit later than usual for the best day to take that walk or ride.

Trees use a combination of cues to determine when to drop their leaves, but the two primary signals are the length of daylight, and temperature. Sunlight is the major factor; as trees sense fewer hours of light, they curtail photosynthesis in their leaves. Green chlorophyll fades, and colors emerge. Climate change has no effect on day length, but it does on temperature. If autumn days are warm, trees tend to delay the color change, and if autumn days are cool, they tend to hasten the pace. If global temperatures generally rise, you may need to take that walk a few days later. Indeed, Massachusetts officials have determined that the average peak color change has shifted about three days later over recent decades.

Climate change could also alter precipitation, which can affect colors as well. The amount of rainfall does not seem to be a factor, but more cloudy days lowers the level of daylight, which tends to lessen the intensity of a leaf?s color.

For more details, check out this video, produced by our partners at Accuweather.com. And if you?re driving through my town this fall, wave hello, but keep your eyes on the trees (I mean, the road).

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Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=059a81b10ba0a5dafe272fcaa67b4cfc

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Video: Pope?s butler feels guilty of betrayal

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/49259669/

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Rodgers throws late TD, Packers beat Saints 28-27

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) ? As if bearing the brunt of the call that ultimately led to the end of the NFL's replacement officials wasn't enough, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers nearly had a big comeback win undone by a blunder from the regular refs.

Rodgers threw a go-ahead touchdown to Jordy Nelson in the fourth quarter, and the Packers shook off a week's worth of controversy with a rally to beat the New Orleans Saints 28-27 on Sunday.

With Lambeau Field fans howling about what appeared to be yet another bad call ? this time by the regular officials, not the replacements ? Garrett Hartley missed a 48-yard field goal attempt with just under three minutes remaining that cost the Saints a shot at the lead.

"We've probably had to deal with more adversity than most of the teams I've played with, especially early on we've had some interesting games already," Rodgers said. "We're four games in. So, I think the character of this team is very strong. Winning games like this says a lot about the kind of men that we have."

Rodgers threw for 319 yards with four touchdowns and an interception for the Packers (2-2).

"I'm very proud of our football team, especially the week we've endured," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "We talk a lot about integrity and character, and I thought today's game had plenty of those types of situations where it showed up big."

Drew Brees threw for 446 yards with three touchdowns for the winless Saints (0-4).

"It's going to hurt when you lose a game like this," Saints interim coach Aaron Kromer said. "But I will not let them get down. We are too close."

Brees now has thrown at least one touchdown in 47 straight regular-season games, tying the NFL's all-time mark set by Johnny Unitas.

"Yeah, it's disappointing," Brees said of the loss. "It stinks. But despite where we're at, right now I think this team's going to do something."

With the win, the Packers were able to put Monday night's controversial replacement official-driven loss at Seattle behind them. But even with the regular refs back this week, the Packers and their fans still nearly were dealt a crushing blow on a blown call.

After Rodgers' touchdown to Nelson, Darren Sproles appeared to fumble the ensuing kickoff but officials ruled that he was down by contact. Replays showed that the ball clearly came out but the Packers were out of replay challenges, leaving Packers fans screaming at the officials for the second week in a row.

"You guys were all happy that the officials were back, and we tried to tell you that they'd still get booed," Nelson said with a laugh.

Brees then led the Saints into field goal range, and Hartley hit a 43-yard attempt ? but the Saints were called for holding, forcing Hartley to line up a 53-yarder. The Packers then were called for encroachment, leaving Hartley to try a 48-yarder and he missed it wide left.

It was a sigh of relief for the Packers, who spent most of the week in the middle of a nationwide firestorm after a last-second decision by replacement officials cost them a game at Seattle on Monday night. It was a burden for the Packers to bear, but likely played a significant role in the NFL agreeing to a deal with its regular officials during the week.

Referee Jeff Triplette struck a triumphant tone during the pregame coin toss Sunday, announcing that "it's great to be back, gentlemen!" A handful of Packers fans came to the game dressed as officials, and some brought signs showing support for the regular refs.

The honeymoon didn't last long. Fans howled for an offensive pass interference call after Brees threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Marques Colston late in the first quarter, but no flag was forthcoming. With the Packers leading 21-14 in the third quarter, fans ? and McCarthy ? were on the officials again when McCarthy challenged a catch by Jimmy Graham but it wasn't overturned.

A 20-yard field goal by Hartley cut the lead to 21-17 with 9:41 left in the third quarter. Rodgers responded with a drive but needed attention from the team's training staff after getting poked in the eye on a face mask by New Orleans' Malcolm Jenkins.

"I wanted to stay in the game ? obviously, I don't like coming out for anything," Rodgers said. "Just didn't have any depth perception immediately thereafter and so I figured we were a yard away and we could punch that thing in there. Unfortunately, didn't happen."

Rodgers came out of the game for one play and backup quarterback Graham Harrell came in ? then tripped and fumbled as he tried to hand it off, allowing the Saints to get the ball. Brees then found Joseph Morgan wide open behind the defense for an 80-yard touchdown and a 24-21 lead.

Rodgers then threw an interception to Patrick Robinson and the Saints drove for a 27-yard field goal by Hartley to take a 27-21 lead with 13:04 remaining.

With the Packers trailing by 6, Rodgers threw an 11-yard strike to Nelson as the Saints' Corey White tried to wrap his arms around the ball ? briefly re-creating a scene eerily similar to the controversial game-ender in Seattle on Monday.

This time, though, Nelson clearly came away with the ball and spiked it emphatically.

NOTES: Packers S M.D. Jennings, who played a key role in the controversial play at Seattle, left the game with a shoulder injury. ... Packers WR Greg Jennings caught a touchdown in the second quarter but later came out of the game. Jennings has been struggling to stay healthy with a groin injury.

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rodgers-throws-td-packers-beat-saints-28-27-235650890--spt.html

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Low levels of vitamin D are associated with mortality in older adults

ScienceDaily (Oct. 2, 2012) ? Low levels of vitamin D and high levels of parathyroid hormone are associated with increased mortality in African American and Caucasian older adults, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM). The study also indicates that the potential impact of remediating low vitamin D levels is greater in African Americans than Caucasians because vitamin D insufficiency is more common in African Americans.

For the past several years, there has been considerable interest in the role vitamin D plays in improving health and preventing disease. Low levels of vitamin D have been directly associated with various forms of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Most studies regarding the health effects of low vitamin D levels have been conducted on persons of European origin, but the current study examines the relationship between vitamin D and mortality in blacks and whites.

"We observed vitamin D insufficiency (defined as blood levels <20 ng/ml), in one third of our study participants. This was associated with nearly a 50 percent increase in the mortality rate in older adults," said Stephen B. Kritchevsky, PhD, Professor of Internal Medicine and Transitional Science at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, and lead researcher of this study. "Our findings suggest that low levels of vitamin D may be a substantial public health concern for our nation's older adults."

In this study, 2,638 Caucasians and African-Americans aged 70-79 years were asked to fast for 12-hours, after which a blood sample was collected to determine levels of vitamin D. Every six months study participants were contacted to ascertain their medical condition. This study determined the proportion of deaths among participants of with different vitamin D levels. In addition to many health factors, the time of year was also taken into account due to the seasonal effects on vitamin D. Researchers found that levels of vitamin D less than 30 ng/ml were associated with significantly increased all-cause mortality.

"We all know that good nutrition is important to overall health and our study adds to a growing body of literature that underscores the importance of vitamin D and indicates that poor vitamin D nutrition is wide-spread," said Kritchevsky. "The good news is it's easy to improve vitamin D status either through increased skin exposure to sunlight or through diet or supplements."

Other researchers participating in the study include: Janet A. Tooze, Rebecca H. Neiberg, Gary G. Schwartz, M. Kyla Shea and Denise K. Houston of Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC; Dorothy B. Hausman, and Mary Ann Johnson of the University of Georgia, Athens, GA; Douglas C. Bauer and Susan M. Rubin of the University of California, San Francisco; Jane A. Cauley of the University of Pittsburgh in PA; Peggy M. Cawthon of California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco; Tamara B. Harris of the National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD; and Francis A. Tylavsky of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Endocrine Society, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Kritchevsky SB, Tooze JA, Neiberg RH, Schwartz GG, Hausman DB, Johnson MA, Bauer DC, Cauley JA, Shea MK, Cawthon PM, Harris TB, Rubin SM, Tylavsky FA, Houston DK. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D, Parathyroid Hormone, and Mortality in Black and White Older Adults: The Health ABC Study. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2012 [link]

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/nutrition/~3/u-tnQj83bE4/121002091803.htm

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Jeffrey Epstein and the American Cancer Society tackle genetic resistance to drugs

NEW YORK, Sept. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- There are two common dilemmas in the treatment of cancer today: the first is that many therapies, including chemotherapies and radiation can debilitate healthy cells, to the point of killing the person before defeating the cancer. The second problem is that many cancer cells, responding to a prevention drug, can quickly mutate to become immune and more resilient.

Recent advances in circulating tumor cell technology (CTC) however, headed by Dr. Daniel Haber, Director at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Dr. Mehmet Toner, Director of the Center for BioMicroElectroMechanical Systems, address this mutation problem head on. Their research has also found support from The American Association of Cancer Research, the American Cancer Society and The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation, which supports cutting edge medical research around the world.

CTC is a simple blood test to detect circulating cancer cells. Using a microfluidic chip, the test isolates cancer cells in the blood and allows them to be purified to analyze their genetic structure. Although many challenges remain in the test, the advantages have already made a huge impact on the treatment of cancer. To date, the test has identified more than 1,200 cancer-causing genetic mutations, the largest collection in the world. The findings have led to a host of mutation specific targeted therapies including the use of reversible and irreversible inhibitors, which have been highly effective in tumor reduction. For instance, Dr. Haber's team recently found that gastric adenocarcinomas, stemming from amplification of the growth factor receptor gene c-MET, only respond to novel inhibitors of the MET tyrosine kinase, leading to the initiation of a genotype-directed clinical trial.

Critically, the CTC test also addresses the major problem of secondary and tertiary genetic mutation to treatment. For while targeted inhibitors can be highly effective in tumor shrinkage, almost all cancer cells quickly mutate to be resistant, reversing tumor reduction within six to eight months. Furthermore, resistance becomes effective from the slightest evolution. For example, approximately half of non-small cell lung cancer cases with mutations to EGFR TK inhibitors became resistant from a single mutation of T790M within the EGFR kinase domain. Indeed, the bulkier methionine residue at position T790M hinders interaction with the inhibitor, preventing binding to the EGFR kinase domain while preserving catalytic activity. An analogous mutation (T315I) in the BCR-ABL fusion kinase in chronic myelogenous leukemia cells renders them resistant to ABL kinase inhibitors, gleevec and dasatinib.

By extracting cancer cells from a CTC blood test however, a patient can be analyzed in genetic real time, meaning a continual genetic analysis to determine the first line of treatment and then a secondary or third line of treatment, as soon as any resistive mutations occur. In fact, since treatment can be tested on the patient's cells in vitro--and from a blood sample relatively quickly and accurately--as compared to a biopsy, any secondary or tertiary mutations detected in the cell culture, can be treated preemptively as part of the first line of attack, as a cocktail with the primary treatment or in immediate sequence. Unlike a blood test however, tumor biopsies can be hugely debilitating, costly, genetically outdated, not always easy to locate and can encourage metastasis of the tumor.

By using the microfluidic test, Dr. Haber's team has a growing catalog of secondary and tertiary mutations and has shown how several irreversible inhibitors produce significant, if not permanent anti-tumor activity on a variety of secondary mutations such as the EGFR receptor double mutation, L858R/T790M. Some of these irreversible inhibitors, namely HKI-272, EKB-569, BIBW2992, and PF00299804, are currently undergoing clinical testing.

Technically, the CTC microfluidic chip test works by taking only 10 milliliters of blood, containing about 80 billion cells. Magnetic beads on the chip are coated with antibodies that bind to both EpCAM positive and EpCAM negative cells (epithelial cell adhesion molecules), a common marker present on CTCs originating from epithelial cancers. The binding of antibodies, makes the CTC cells detectable and ready for extraction via purification.

The toxic effect of genetic therapies are significantly less than standard chemotherapy drugs, due to their receptor specificity, however toxicity is still a major hurdle and can cause heart disease, gastrointestinal damage and the development of other cancers. "The CTC test is not only increasingly specific to the mutation driving the cancer," Jeffrey Epstein countered, whose foundation supports cutting edge medical and science research around the world, "but doses can be closely minimized to tumor reduction and secondary treatments can be given in tandem or immediately thereafter."

Source: www.jeffreyepstein.org

www.jeffreyepstein.org

CONTACT: Christina Galbraith, The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation,+1-917-573-7604, http://www.jeffreyepstein.org

Web site: http://www.jeffreyepstein.org/

Source: http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=16017&Section=Disease

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Huge tax increase looms at year-end 'fiscal cliff'

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A typical middle-income family making $40,000 to $64,000 a year could see its taxes go up by $2,000 next year if lawmakers fail to renew a lengthy roster of tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year, according to a new report Monday

Taxpayers across the income spectrum would be hit with large tax hikes, the Tax Policy Center said in its study, with households in the top 1 percent income range seeing an average tax increase of more than $120,000, while a family making between $110,000 to $140,000 could see a tax hike in the $6,000 range.

Taxpayers across the income spectrum will get slammed with increases totaling more than $500 billion ? a more than 20 percent increase ? with nine out of 10 households being affected by the expiration of tax cuts enacted under both President Barack Obama and his predecessor, George W. Bush.

The expiring provisions include Bush-era cuts on wage and investment income and cuts for married couples and families with children, among others. Also expiring is a 2 percentage point temporary payroll tax cut championed by Obama.

The looming expiration of the large roster of tax cuts is one of the issues confronting voters in November, with the chief difference between Obama and GOP candidate Mitt Romney being the tax treatment of wealthier earners. Obama is calling for permitting rates on individual income exceeding $200,000 and family incoming over $250,000 to go back to Clinton-era rates of as much as 39.6 percent.

Both candidates call for rewriting the tax code next year, but any such effort promises to be difficult and could take considerable time.

Monday's study, by the independent Tax Policy Center, deals with the immediate increases set to slap taxpayers in January under the existing framework of the tax code.

Few are talking of renewing Obama's payroll tax cut, even though that would mean a healthy tax increase for many working people. Working families with modest incomes would be hit hard as the child tax credit would shrink from a maximum of $1,000 per child to $500.

As a result, a married couple earning $50,000 with three dependent children that currently receives an almost $1,500 income tax refund largely due to the child tax credit would see their fortunes reversed by more than $3,000 next year and pay more than $1,500 in income taxes while seeing their payroll taxes go up by $1,000 if the full menu of tax cuts expire.

"It's just a huge, huge number," said Eric Toder, one of the authors of the study.

Economists warn that the looming tax hikes, combined with $109 billion in automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect in January, could throw the fragile economy back into recession if Washington doesn't act. The automatic spending cuts are coming due because of the failure of last year's deficit "supercommittee" to strike a bargain. The combination of the sharp tax hikes and spending cuts has been dubbed a "fiscal cliff."

"The fiscal cliff threatens an unprecedented tax increase at year end," says the report. "Taxes would rise by more than $500 billion in 2013 ? an average of almost $3,500 per household ? as almost every tax cuts enacted since 2001 would expire."

Cumulatively, the country would see a 5 percentage point jump in its average tax rate, which works out to taxes on the top 1 percent jumping by more than 7 percentage points and about 4 percentage points for most people earning below $100,000 a year.

Put another way, people in the $40,000-$64,000 income range would see their average federal tax rate jump from 14 percent to 17.8 percent ? or an increase in their overall federal bill of 27 percent.

All told, almost 90 percent of all households would face a tax increase, though the top 20 percent of earners would bear 60 percent of the overall cost. Across all households the tax increases would average almost $3,500.

The expiration of cuts on capital gains and stock dividends is a key reason why wealthier people would see a higher increase in their tax burdens.

Republicans controlling the House have also called for the expiration of Obama-backed tax cuts for the working poor, including expansions of the earned income and child tax credits.

But all sides are calling for the renewal of Bush-era tax rates for everyone else. Without a renewal of those rates, a married couple would pay a 28 percent rate on taxable income exceeding $72,300 instead of the 25 percent rate they now pay. And the 10 percent rate paid on the first $8,900 of income would jump to 15 percent.

The new top rate of 39.6 percent would kick in for income over $397,000. The current top rate is 35 percent rate.

The Tax Policy Center is a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/huge-tax-increase-looms-end-fiscal-cliff-155135586--finance.html

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Boy Scouts to report suspected pedophiles to U.S. authorities

(Reuters) - The Boy Scouts of America is preparing to report to law enforcement the names of hundreds of adult leaders who have confessed to or been accused of molesting scouts since the 1960s, a spokesman said Monday.

The Boy Scouts' policy since last year has required accusations or incidents of child molestation to be immediately reported to authorities. Before then, reporting requirements differed from state to state depending on local laws, which raised questions about how many incidents went unreported over the years.

The change announced on Monday "is simply retrofitting our current policy to past cases," according to organization spokesman Deron Smith.

The Boy Scouts, one of the country's largest youth organizations, will turn the information over to local authorities in the jurisdictions where the accusations originated.

While some former scout leaders and volunteers could be subject to criminal charges as a result of the names, plaintiff attorneys say they don't expect a wave of charges to be filed.

Prosecutions would require more than simply an accusation, and many of the cases are decades old. In some states, in cases where statutes of limitations on reporting sexual abuse haven't expired, civil charges could still be brought.

The decision to turn over names to authorities comes as the Boy Scouts is preparing for the court-ordered release this month of 20,000 pages of internal files. The files date from 1965 to 1985 and detail roughly 1,200 cases of scout leaders who abused children or were accused of doing so.

The files played a key evidentiary role in a 2010 civil case in which an Oregon jury found the Boy Scouts liable for $20 million for failing to protect a scout from a 1980s leader who was an admitted pedophile.

Since at least 1919, the Boy Scouts, headquartered in Irving, Texas, has maintained an "ineligible volunteers" file to prevent suspected pedophiles from re-entering its ranks in other cities and states.

Law enforcement was involved in about two-thirds of the 1,200 cases that arose between 1965 and 1985, Smith said. But in an estimated 300 cases, there is no evidence that authorities were ever notified because state law did not require it.

It is unclear how many similar cases are contained in the files dating from 1985 to the present, Smith said, but those names will also be turned over to authorities. An internal review is under way.

Defense lawyers who represent molested scouts say it's a decision that has been too long in coming.

"This represents a fundamental shift from any other point in history in the way the Boy Scouts have regarded the contents of these files," said Paul Mones, the lead plaintiff attorney in the Oregon case.

"There were some cases in which the Boy Scouts had admissions from or pretty strong evidence of molestation and didn't contact law enforcement, and still haven't," he said.

Mones said turning over the names "represents a major step forward."

The Boy Scouts have annually counted between 3.5 million and 5 million scouts and more than 1 million adult leaders and volunteers among its members since the 1960s, Smith said.

(Reporting by Chris Francescani; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boy-scouts-report-suspected-pedophiles-u-authorities-215504326.html

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