Fed's Rosengren: further easing "appropriate, necessary"

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Engadget Mobile Podcast 139 - 05.26.2012

Myriam and Brad get 2.0'd: the Engadget Mobile Podcasters go at it as a lean, mean, waterproof duo equipped with 41-megapixel sensors, upgraded globetrotting radios, and bootloaders as free as the wind. What can't they do? is the real question.

Hosts: Myriam Joire (tnkgrl), Brad Molen
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Tycho - Coastal Brake (Ghostly International)

00:00:55 - Samsung Galaxy S III review
00:39:10 - Samsung: 'Lawyers didn't design the Galaxy S III'
00:42:13 - Google officially closes deal for Motorola Mobility
00:42:30 - China clears Google acquisition of Motorola, eliminates last barrier to Googorola bliss (update)
00:51:55 - Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE pre-orders begin shipping to eager subs
00:57:34 - Sprint to begin shipping the HTC EVO 4G LTE for arrival 'on or around' May 24th, pre-orders get first dib
00:58:00 - HTC One X for AT&T gets unofficial bootloader unlock
01:27:58 - Facebook Camera hands-on
01:38:50 - Nokia 808 PureView impressions, camera showdown with the iPhone 4S and HTC One S
01:43:00 - The future for Nokia PureView: Possible slimmer models and 'not necessarily a 41MP sensor'
01:45:45 - Panasonic Eluga review
01:52:08 - Verizon purportedly giving DROID 4, RAZR and Rezound 'global' designation via software update (update: confirmed)

Hear the podcast

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Engadget Mobile Podcast 139 - 05.26.2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 May 2012 17:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cancer may require simpler genetic mutations than previously thought

ScienceDaily (May 25, 2012) ? Chromosomal deletions in DNA often involve just one of two gene copies inherited from either parent. But scientists haven't known how a deletion in one gene from one parent, called a "hemizygous" deletion, can contribute to cancer.

A research team led by Stephen Elledge, a professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and his post-doctoral fellow Nicole Solimini, has now provided an answer. The most common hemizygous deletions in cancer, their research shows, involve a variety of tumor suppressing genes called STOP genes (suppressors of tumorigenesis and proliferation) that scatter randomly throughout the genome, but that sometimes cluster in the same place on a chromosome. And these clusters, said Elledge, who is also a professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, tend to be deleted as a group. "Eliminating the cluster gives a bigger bang for the deletion buck," he said.

This finding is especially interesting in light of the two-hit model of cancer formation, which holds that both copies of a recessive gene need to be inactivated to trigger a biological effect. Thus the loss of a single tumor suppressor copy should have little or no influence on tumor cell proliferation because the remaining copy located on the other chromosome is there to pick up the slack.

Elledge's research points to a different hypothesis, namely that STOP genes in a hemizygous deletion aren't recessive but are instead haploinsufficient, meaning that they depend on two copies to function normally. "If a tumor suppressor is haploinsufficient, then a single gene copy lacks the potency needed to fully restrain tumorigenesis," Elledge explained, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. "So by removing clusters of haploinsufficient genes all at once, the cancer cell immediately propels its growth forward without having to wait for the other copies to also be lost."

Angelika Amon, a professor of biology at the Massachusetts of Technology, said she's surprised by the findings. "We've known from a lot of human syndromes that haploinsufficiency is widespread in the development of complex multicellular organisms," she said. "But these data show it's also critical for individual cells and cell proliferation."

The results also offer a different take on the two-hit model in carcinogenesis, Amon said. Being remarkably unstable, cancer cells can delete gene copies at every turn of the corner. If the loss of a single tumor suppressor copy provides no survival advantage for the tumor, then the tumor has no incentive to retain the cell with that deletion. But if the loss of that copy boosts proliferation, then the probability of a second hit later is greatly increased. "So haploinsufficiency is a way for the cancer cell to dramatically accelerate the acquisition of growth beneficial mutations," Amon said.

In other words, all it takes is a 50 percent reduction in gene activity for a cancer cell to grow. "That tells us it's a lot easier to get cancer than we might have hoped," Amon said.

According to Elledge, the number of hemizygotic deletions averages roughly six per tumor, with some tumors -- breast and pancreatic, for instance -- averaging up to ten. Each deletion involves 25 to 40 genes, many of them STOP genes, but also a few GO genes (growth enhancers and oncogenes) that enhance proliferation. That the STOP genes substantially outnumber their GO counterparts is important, Elledge explained, because it means cancer cells can tilt scales toward proliferation without also compromising it at the same time.

"The data reveal a lot of haploinsufficient players that have small effects individually, but large effects in combination," Elledge said. "Unfortunately, it's not easy to see how to take advantage of that chemotherapeutically."

What's important about the results, he emphasized, is that they open up new views on how tumors evolve. Moreso, they underscore the importance of proliferation as a fundamental feature of tumor growth, he added.

The challenge now, Elledge said, will be to find out which of the genes in a recurring deletion are haploinsufficient. "At the moment, we estimate roughly 25 percent," he said. "So these findings could also have important ramifications for other human diseases in addition to cancer."

This work was supported by grants from the NCI/NHGRI funded Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project, from the NIH (U54CA143798) to R.B. and by grants from the NIH, SU2C, and DOD.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Harvard Medical School.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. N. L. Solimini, Q. Xu, C. H. Mermel, A. C. Liang, M. R. Schlabach, J. Luo, A. E. Burrows, A. N. Anselmo, A. L. Bredemeyer, M. Z. Li, R. Beroukhim, M. Meyerson, S. J. Elledge. Recurrent Hemizygous Deletions in Cancers May Optimize Proliferative Potential. Science, 2012; DOI: 10.1126/science.1219580

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.

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Kerouac's "On the Road" hits screen in Cannes debut

CANNES (Reuters) - The Bible of the Beat Generation, "On the Road" premiered at Cannes on Wednesday, taking more than five decades for the frenetic tale of liberation, masculinity and post-War America to play out its journey from novel to the big screen.

Furiously written on a typewriter over a three-week long creative binge in 1951, Jack Kerouac's On the Road is the seminal portrayal of "Beat" culture and its spiritual quest for expression.

The film version from Brazilian director Walter Salles ("Motorcycle Diaries") strives to capture the energy and drug-fuelled stream of consciousness of the original book.

Salles is helped by the casting of British actor Sam Riley as protagonist Sal Paradise, a stand-in for Kerouac himself, and U.S. actor Garrett Hedlund as Dean Moriarty, a symbol of American virility and poster child for living in the moment.

"The only people who interest me are the mad ones," Paradise writes, and Moriarty fits the bill. The charming, adventurous con man becomes Paradise's alter ego, and their closely bonded friendship plays out across a series of road trips.

"It's about the loss of innocence, it's about the search for that last frontier they'll never find," Salles told reporters in Cannes. "It's about also discovering that this is the end of the road and the end of the American dream."

Kristen Stewart of "Twilight" fame plays Moriarty's young wife Marylou, Kirsten Dunst plays second wife Camille and Viggo Mortensen takes a turn as Old Bull Lee, who is based on William Burroughs.

Salles said he and the team had "enormous respect for Kerouac" which helped drive the process from the time Francis Ford Coppola bought the film rights to the book in 1979.

The idea of making On the Road into a movie languished "until Walter raised his hand and said I think I can make this movie," said Coppola's son, Roman, who is a co-producer. "It took 30 years but it was such a natural fit with Walter."

Most early reviews were negative.

"It feels long and tedious, as if we've dropped in on someone else's party without knowing or caring who these folks are, knocking back the whisky and barbiturates as regularly as they're knocking off each other," wrote London magazine Time Out's Dave Calhoun.

British newspaper The Telegraph called the film a "tedious loop of beatnik debauchery" while the Evening Standard said it "seems to lack the mad passion of Jack Kerouac's ferocious and extraordinary writing."

ROAD MOVIE

Drugs, sex and jazz are central to On the Road, as the lead characters' quest for freedom of body and mind take them to black jazz clubs, flop houses, migrant camps and rail depots.

"A road movie I think is what made me into a film maker and I'm very loyal to it," Salles told the press.

He said he found parallels between Kerouac's search for inspiration through jazz and bebop as he wrote his novel in an improvisational style and the job of the director.

"You always have to be on the lookout for what you find along the way, it's a way of creating fantastic images."

Salles' camera captures America's vastness - and the promise of something new around the corner - from the lights of New York to the hills of San Francisco and the long expanse of flat road and endless sky in between.

But as the sun fades on the brief and bright explosion of the characters' lives, age and responsibility intrude.

"This high we're on is a mirage," character Carlo Marx tells Paradise and Moriarty.

For a look at Cannes' 2012 lineup, click here: http://link.reuters.com/vav28s

(Reporting By Alexandria Sage, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Hhgregg fiscal 4Q profit jumps on insurance payout

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Clemson research to advance archaeological iron conservation

Public release date: 23-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Stphanie Crett
scrette@clemson.edu
843-744-2974
Clemson University

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. Scientists with the Warren Lasch Conservation Center at the Clemson University Restoration Institute will receive a share of a $235,000 grant from the National Park Service's Preservation Technology and Training Program to improve metals conservation in a sustainable way.

The Clemson researchers will receive $24,000 to investigate the applicability of ion-exchange technology for metal conservation.

Awards were selected and the assistance agreements will be administered by the Park Service's National Center for Preservation Technology and Training in Natchitoches, La. The center strives to create new technologies and training opportunities to preserve prehistoric and historic resources throughout the United States.

The National Park Service awarded the grants and agreements under Title IV of the National Historic Preservation Act. The Service received 42 grant applications, which underwent peer review and a national panel review. Eleven institutions were selected for awards.

Clemson's grant application was submitted by research scientist Stphanie Crett, research engineer Nestor G. Gonzalez-Pereyra and conservator Liisa Nsnen, who will conduct the research.

The research team's goal is to develop a simple and effective method to improve the desalination treatments traditionally used on archaeological iron conservation. The team will apply ion-exchange technologies to selectively remove chloride and other ions from caustic solutions without significantly affecting pH.

Conservation treatment protocols continuously require re-evaluation so that best-practice techniques reflect contemporary scientific capabilities, Crett said. As such, frequent meshing of the conservator's skills with those of the materials science and chemistry profession is imperative.

"The primary objective of this project is to design and implement an improved treatment protocol that is effective, fast, reversible, sustainable, safe and in accordance with conservation ethics," Crett said.

The research team will apply ion-exchange systems to separate chloride salts from caustic solutions traditionally used to stabilize archaeological metal.

A recirculating and regenerating system will be devised, which will accelerate the treatment of iron artifacts and use significantly less caustic solution, therefore reducing handling and health and safety issues to a minimum.

###

---

[ | 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.

Public release date: 23-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Stphanie Crett
scrette@clemson.edu
843-744-2974
Clemson University

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. Scientists with the Warren Lasch Conservation Center at the Clemson University Restoration Institute will receive a share of a $235,000 grant from the National Park Service's Preservation Technology and Training Program to improve metals conservation in a sustainable way.

The Clemson researchers will receive $24,000 to investigate the applicability of ion-exchange technology for metal conservation.

Awards were selected and the assistance agreements will be administered by the Park Service's National Center for Preservation Technology and Training in Natchitoches, La. The center strives to create new technologies and training opportunities to preserve prehistoric and historic resources throughout the United States.

The National Park Service awarded the grants and agreements under Title IV of the National Historic Preservation Act. The Service received 42 grant applications, which underwent peer review and a national panel review. Eleven institutions were selected for awards.

Clemson's grant application was submitted by research scientist Stphanie Crett, research engineer Nestor G. Gonzalez-Pereyra and conservator Liisa Nsnen, who will conduct the research.

The research team's goal is to develop a simple and effective method to improve the desalination treatments traditionally used on archaeological iron conservation. The team will apply ion-exchange technologies to selectively remove chloride and other ions from caustic solutions without significantly affecting pH.

Conservation treatment protocols continuously require re-evaluation so that best-practice techniques reflect contemporary scientific capabilities, Crett said. As such, frequent meshing of the conservator's skills with those of the materials science and chemistry profession is imperative.

"The primary objective of this project is to design and implement an improved treatment protocol that is effective, fast, reversible, sustainable, safe and in accordance with conservation ethics," Crett said.

The research team will apply ion-exchange systems to separate chloride salts from caustic solutions traditionally used to stabilize archaeological metal.

A recirculating and regenerating system will be devised, which will accelerate the treatment of iron artifacts and use significantly less caustic solution, therefore reducing handling and health and safety issues to a minimum.

###

---

[ | 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.

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How Online Retailers Use An Age-Old Economic Theory To Boost ...

Maybe you?ve been in a position similar to the one Hemant Bhargava, a business professor at the University of California, Davis, found himself in as he redecorated his home. As he?recounted to Adam Davidson for a New York Times piece, Bhargava found a chandelier on Amazon for $750. He then found the same product on a lesser-known website for $100 less, but still opted to pay more for the same product.

Bhargava?s purchase is a textbook case of signaling, a way in which consumers can feel secure in a purchase even when there is no objective information to base that security on. And, as the Internet becomes an increasingly complex marketplace, we can expect more signaling, as well as dramatic shifts in traditional rules of the economic theory.

?There has been quite a bit of social psychology research conducted on what is called ?social proof,? meaning that people look to what others do before they take a particular action - in this case, buying a product [or] service,? said Jeff Kear, who runs the Denver-based branding and marketing firm Kear Stevens. ?Social proof still works very well on the Internet.?

And it?s not just choosing Amazon over a startup or opting to use Google over a lesser-known startup. If you?ve ever chosen dinner based on Yelp reviews, bumped a DVD to the top of your Netflix queue based on the star rating or researched a car purchase in online forums, you?ve been influenced by signaling.

Signals Help Shoppers Fight Information Overload

Davidson notes that in classical economic theories, signaling works better in marketplaces where users don?t have access to reliable information. But in the modern economy, signaling tends to work better in marketplaces where users have access to too much information - a marketplace like the Internet, which can make Calcutta look tranquil.

?The Internet is, among other things, a massive, chaotic marketplace. Too much information, it turns out, is a lot like no information,? Davidson wrote, noting most people simply don?t have the time to research or comparison shop on every single purchase.

Signals That Work: Celebrity and Non-Celebrity Endorsements

Pepsi paid Nicki Minaj a lot of money to be their celebrity spokeswoman. Pepsi does not expect us to believe that she is suddenly an expert on carbonated beverages. Under the rules of signaling, Minaj is bling: her contract proves that Pepsi has enough money to hire her, which, by extension, proves a lot of people buy Pepsi products.

But we don?t always need a celebrity to convince us to buy online or off. Often proof (or perceived proof) that someone like us bought and enjoyed the product is enough to get us to make a purchase.

?Ads that contain a short testimonial and even a picture of the person providing the testimonial still draw quite well over more generic, benefit-oriented messaging, simply because a third-party is providing proof of the legitimacy of the product,? Kear said.

Signals To Avoid: The Dollar Sign

Putting a dollar sign and prices in a Google keyword ad is a time-honored trick to convey value, but a recent University of Iowa study is worth noting: the study found that ads with dollar signs and prices were more likely from companies offering inferior products and poor customer service.

?We found that merchants that can?t compete on service attract customers using the lure of a good deal,? said Gautam Pant, a professor of management sciences in the Tippie College of Business. ?If you?re a retailer with a low reputation, you use what you have, and price is the best thing they have to attract customers.?

Photo of Nicki Minaj by?s_bukley?/ Images from?Shutterstock.com

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J.C. Penney's shares in free-fall after 1Q loss

FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 23, 2009 file photo, shoppers visit a J.C. Penney store in New York. J.C. Penney's stock plunged 18 percent on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 ? the biggest drop by percentage since the market crash in 1987. The decline comes a day after the retailer reported a larger-than-expected first-quarter loss largely because customers were turned off by its new everyday low pricing strategy. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 23, 2009 file photo, shoppers visit a J.C. Penney store in New York. J.C. Penney's stock plunged 18 percent on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 ? the biggest drop by percentage since the market crash in 1987. The decline comes a day after the retailer reported a larger-than-expected first-quarter loss largely because customers were turned off by its new everyday low pricing strategy. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Wall Street doesn't seem to like J.C. Penney's new everyday low pricing any better than Main Street does.

The department store chain's stock plunged nearly 20 percent on Wednesday ? the biggest decline in at least four decades, including the 1987 stock market crash. The drop came a day after Penney said it would stop paying dividends and blamed its large first-quarter loss on a poor reception from shoppers for its strategy of getting rid of hundreds of sales each year in favor of offering predictable low prices every day.

The plan, rolled out Feb. 1, aims to stop the cycle of heavy discounting ? and discourage customers from waiting for sales to shop. But the reaction by investors and shoppers shows how difficult it will be for Penney to change the mindset of consumers who have been conditioned to expect blockbuster deals from Penney during the economic downturn.

It also puts more pressure on new CEO Ron Johnson, a former Apple executive who is trying to transform Penney from a has-been to a retail darling. The same investors who initially supported the man who masterminded both Apple's successful retail stores and Target's cheap chic strategy prior to that, now seem to be losing confidence in Johnson's plan.

"The honeymoon is definitely over for Johnson," said Brian Sozzi, chief equities analyst at NBG Productions, an independent research firm. "He sold the (pricing) story hard."

Penney did not return calls seeking comment, but Johnson asked investors to be patient during a meeting with them on Tuesday. He acknowledged that Penney has a long way to go to convince shoppers not to wait for sales.

But he said he needed to make this bet on predictable pricing because Penney has been struggling in recent years with the downturn and increased competition. Going forward, he said the company will do more to communicate the benefits of the new pricing strategy to shoppers in ads.

"Our first 90 days are little tougher than we expected," Johnson told them. "We learned. Coupons are a drug. They really drove traffic."

Penney has long said the pricing plan would take time to work. But Johnson has tempered his tone since January when he announced the strategy to make pricing simpler. Unlike Wal-Mart's everyday low pricing, Penney's strategy doesn't try to undercut competitors but focuses on predictable prices.

Penney rolled out a series of ads intended to familiarize customers with its three-tiered strategy. The plan features everyday prices that are about 40 lower than a year ago, monthlong sales on selected items and clearance events on the first and third Friday of each month.

But observers say Penney's latest ads ? which mimic rival Target's whimsical style ? are confusing. In one TV spot, a dog continuously jumps through a hula hoop that a young girl is holding. The text reads: "No more jumping through hoops. No coupon clipping. No door busting. Just great prices from the start."

Wendy Ruud, a resident of Boca Raton, Fla., says she doesn't understand the commercials. She has stopped shopping at Penney because it no longer sends her coupons.

"I haven't really tried to educate myself" on the plan, said Rudd, 49. "But then I shouldn't have to."

The first sign that Penney's new pricing plan wasn't resonating with customers came last week when Macy's CFO Karen Hoguet told analysts that sales were rising at her company's stores that share malls with Penney stores.

Then, on Tuesday, J.C. Penney Co. reported that it lost $163 million, or 75 cents a share, in the three months ended April 28, compared with a profit of $64 million, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue dropped 20 percent to $3.15 billion for the quarter as customer traffic slipped 10 percent. Meanwhile, revenue at stores open at least a year ? a comparison used to measure a retailer's health ? fell 18.9 percent. That's much steeper than the 11.4 percent drop Wall Street was expecting.

Penney, based in Plano, Texas, also said it would discontinue its 20-cent-per-share quarterly dividend to save $175 million to fund its transformation.

Investors, who had sent Penney shares soaring 24 percent to about $43 after Johnson announced the pricing plan in late January, already had pushed Penney's shares down around $34.

On Wednesday, a day after Penney reported the disappointing results, its stock fell 19.7 percent, or $6.57, to close at $26.75.

That's the largest percentage drop since at least January 1972, when FactSet's daily stock price records begin. On Oct. 19, 1987, Penney's shares slid 19.2 percent to $19.50.

David Abella, a portfolio manager at money-management firm Rochdale Investment Management, said the stock price drop may have created a buying opportunity. But he says he's holding off because he finds Penney's 20 percent drop in sales worrisome when many other retailers' enjoyed much better results.

"This only reinforces my skeptical feeling," said Abella, who added that he may buy Penney stock if he sees signs that shoppers are warming to the new pricing plan. "I haven't ever seen anything that bad in a decent market."

Associated Press

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Foreclosed Home Of Earl Bradley, Pedophile Pediatrician, Receives No Bids At Auction (VIDEO)

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LG LS970 superphone rumored: Krait quad-core, 2GB RAM, LTE and 13MP camera

Not to be outdone by its Korean rival, LG's reportedly preparing a potent new phone with some of Qualcomm's latest SoC hardware. According to BriefMobile's leak, it'll pack an LTE-friendly MDM9615 alongside the Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM -- something LG has already announced for its Optimus LTE2. A 2,1000 mAh battery will apparently power the 4.67-inch 1280 x 768 LCD display, while a Sony-matching 13-megapixel camera will face out the back. The leak -- which includes the decidedly abstract photo above -- reckons the LTE slab will arrive on Sprint, which tallies with the LS970 model number. We're cautiously holding out for something more official soon -- perhaps once the Now Network's flipped that 4G switch.

LG LS970 superphone rumored: Krait quad-core, 2GB RAM, LTE and 13MP camera originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 07:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PHOTOS: Check Out Drew Barrymore's Baby Bump!

A pregnant-looking Drew Barrymore steps out with her fiance! Check out more pics of Hollywood's tightest twosomes

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Insert Coin: Etcher, the fully functional Etch A Sketch iPad case

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

Visions of the iPad as a modern-day Etch A Sketch have so far been primarily decorative: they've been more about remembering youth than recreating it. That's why Ari Krupnik & Associates' officially-sanctioned Etcher iPad case project on Kickstarter stands out. Those knobs? They work, and they're Made for iPad certified. And, as the Etcher is a product of the digital era, your creations in the custom-written app can be saved and shared to Facebook, Flickr or even YouTube as a time lapse video. Shaking the Etcher will still erase your image -- it just doesn't have to disappear forever this time.

Your pledge level determines not only what variety of Etcher case you get, but how much control you get over the project. Committing $45 is all it takes for the nostalgic red, but if you spend $60, $75 or $100, you'll have the additional options for blue or a special backer-only color. Those at the $100 level get to vote on what color they and the $75 pledge-makers will see. A $175 outlay will provide early access to the software development kit as well as a say in what open-source license the code will use. Moving up to $210 or $360 will give you that control as well as an accordant five or 10 Etcher cases. If you like what you see, you have just over a month to contribute and make the iPad drawing add-on a reality.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Etcher, the fully functional Etch A Sketch iPad case

Insert Coin: Etcher, the fully functional Etch A Sketch iPad case originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 08:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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She's a Hero! Mila Kunis Saves Man Having a Seizure

Who needs superheroes when you have celebrities? Mila Kunis is the latest star to come to the aid of a civilian in need, and for that we applaud her.

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Plants flowering much faster as global temperatures rise (+video)

Scientists have been underestimating the effects of climate change on plant growth, according to a recent study.

Plants are flowering faster than scientists predicted in response to climate change, research in the United States showed on Wednesday, which could have
devastating knock-on effects for food chains and ecosystems.

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Global warming is having a significant impact on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing some breeding, migration and feeding patterns, scientists say.

Increased carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels can affect how plants produce oxygen, while higher temperatures and variable rainfall patterns can change their behaviour.??????

"Predicting species' response to climate change is a major challenge in ecology," said researchers at the University of California San Diego and several other U.S. institutions.

They said plants had been the focus of study because their response to climate change could affect food chains and ecosystem services such as pollination, nutrient cycles and water supply.

The study,?published on the Nature website, draws on evidence from plant life cycle studies and experiments across four continents and 1,634 species. It found that some experiments had underestimated the speed of flowering by 8.5 times and growing leaves by 4 times.

"Across all species, the experiments under-predicted the magnitude of the advance - for both leafing and flowering - that results from temperature increases," the study said.

The design of future experiments may need to be improved to better predict how plants will react to climate change, it said.

Plants are essential to life on Earth. They are the base of the food chain, using photosynthesis to produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water. They expel oxygen which is needed by nearly every organism which inhabits the planet.

Scientists estimate the world's average temperature has risen by about 0.8 degrees Celsius since 1900, and nearly 0.2 degrees per decade since 1979.

So far, efforts to cut emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases are not seen as sufficient to prevent the Earth heating up beyond 2 degrees C this century - a threshold scientists say risks an unstable climate in which weather extremes are common, leading to drought, floods, crop failures and rising sea levels.

The study can be viewed at http://www.nature.com/nature

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Pfizer Q1 profit falls 19 pct on generic Lipitor

NEW YORK (AP) ? Pfizer Inc. says first-quarter profit fell 19 percent, mainly because new generic competition to its blockbuster cholesterol pill Lipitor cut U.S. sales by 15 percent as the drugmaker offered big rebates and discounts to keep patients on its brand.

The maker of Viagra says net income was $1.79 billion, or 24 cents per share, down from $2.22 billion, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, the world's biggest drugmaker would have made $4.43 billion, or 58 cents per share. Analysts were expected 56 cents a share.

Revenue totaled $15.4 billion, down 7 percent from $16.5 billion a year ago. Analysts were expecting $15.46 billion.

Pfizer lowered its adjusted profit forecast for 2012 by 6 cents, to $2.14 to $2.24 per share.

Associated Press

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China data points towards economic recovery

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