Raising the blockade

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Contact: Kathrin Bilgeri
kathrin.bilgeri@lmu.de
49-892-180-6938
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt Mnchen

At crucial points in the metabolism of all organisms, a protein with the unwieldy name of Translation Elongation Factor P (EF-P, for short) takes center stage. What it actually does during protein synthesis has only now been elucidated by researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt in Munich.

The research group led by Kirsten Jung, Professor of Microbiology at LMU, actually focused on how bacteria cope with stress, for example how the receptor meolecule CadC monitors the acidity in the environment and alerts the cell to take countermeasures to protect itself. However, one day Kirsten Jung found herself asking questions about protein synthesis, the core biosynthetic process that makes all metabolism possible. This arose because she discovered that, in the absence of Elongation Factor P, the cell doesn't make enough CadC to carry out its job effectively.

Recovering from a stall

How then does EF-P regulate protein synthesis in general, and, in particular, the synthesis of CadC? In collaboration with Daniel Wilson's group at LMU's Gene Center, Jung's team has now teased out the mechanism. Molecular machines called ribosomes translate the genetic blueprints for proteins into the correct sequence of amino acids as they move along a messenger RNA molecule. However, when the blueprint calls for the addition of several successive proline amino acids onto the growing protein chain, the ribosomes grind to a halt. It turns out that EF-P is required to get these stalled ribosomes going again. Moreover, the factor not only fulfills this function in bacteria and in archaea, but also in the cells of eukaryotic organisms, which have their own versions of EF-P.

Jung and Wilson, who also cooperate within the context of the "Center for integrated Protein Science Munich", an Excellence Cluster, believe that the translation stop imposed by a short run of prolines provides a means of adjusting protein copy numbers in response to changing conditions. In bacteria, a functionally diverse set of around 100 proteins is known to contain such proline-rich motifs. This suggests that the stalling phenomenon indeed has a more general regulatory role, and may even provide a target for new antibiotics. Indeed, Daniel Wilson's group recently discovered the last enzyme in the EF-P modification pathway: For its rescue activity, the factor must be modified by other enzymes which are not found in humans.

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[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 14-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Kathrin Bilgeri
kathrin.bilgeri@lmu.de
49-892-180-6938
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt Mnchen

At crucial points in the metabolism of all organisms, a protein with the unwieldy name of Translation Elongation Factor P (EF-P, for short) takes center stage. What it actually does during protein synthesis has only now been elucidated by researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt in Munich.

The research group led by Kirsten Jung, Professor of Microbiology at LMU, actually focused on how bacteria cope with stress, for example how the receptor meolecule CadC monitors the acidity in the environment and alerts the cell to take countermeasures to protect itself. However, one day Kirsten Jung found herself asking questions about protein synthesis, the core biosynthetic process that makes all metabolism possible. This arose because she discovered that, in the absence of Elongation Factor P, the cell doesn't make enough CadC to carry out its job effectively.

Recovering from a stall

How then does EF-P regulate protein synthesis in general, and, in particular, the synthesis of CadC? In collaboration with Daniel Wilson's group at LMU's Gene Center, Jung's team has now teased out the mechanism. Molecular machines called ribosomes translate the genetic blueprints for proteins into the correct sequence of amino acids as they move along a messenger RNA molecule. However, when the blueprint calls for the addition of several successive proline amino acids onto the growing protein chain, the ribosomes grind to a halt. It turns out that EF-P is required to get these stalled ribosomes going again. Moreover, the factor not only fulfills this function in bacteria and in archaea, but also in the cells of eukaryotic organisms, which have their own versions of EF-P.

Jung and Wilson, who also cooperate within the context of the "Center for integrated Protein Science Munich", an Excellence Cluster, believe that the translation stop imposed by a short run of prolines provides a means of adjusting protein copy numbers in response to changing conditions. In bacteria, a functionally diverse set of around 100 proteins is known to contain such proline-rich motifs. This suggests that the stalling phenomenon indeed has a more general regulatory role, and may even provide a target for new antibiotics. Indeed, Daniel Wilson's group recently discovered the last enzyme in the EF-P modification pathway: For its rescue activity, the factor must be modified by other enzymes which are not found in humans.

###


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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.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/lm-rtb121412.php

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Ford Ranger increases towing capacity to joint class-leading 3500kg ...

The Ford Ranger ute now boasts joint class-leading towing capacity of 3500kg after the introduction of some chassis-strengthening measures.

The revised braked towing capacity rating is for its diesel-powered 4?2 Hi-Rider and 4?4 variants fitted with the company?s official tow pack and tow ball.

Ford says the increase of 150kg, which allows the Ranger to match the freshly released rival Holden Colorado, ?was achieved through structural chassis changes including changes to welding patterns and welding points?.

Ford Australia has sold more than 15,0000 of the locally developed Ranger ute since its launch in late 2010.

Click to read CarAdvice?s review of the Ford Ranger.

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Source: http://www.caradvice.com.au/205375/ford-ranger-increases-towing-capacity-joint-class-leading-3500kg/

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Two Cops Arrested For Taking Items From Jenni Rivera Plane Crash Site

Two Cops Arrested For Taking Items From Jenni Rivera Plane Crash Site

Jenni Rivera remains foundJenni Rivera’s remains have been found and identified near the site of her plane crash that left seven people dead. The singer and six other passengers were aboard a private Learjet 25 when it went down in Nuevo Leon, Mexico on Sunday and all were presumed dead after wreckage of the aircraft was found scattered ...

Two Cops Arrested For Taking Items From Jenni Rivera Plane Crash Site Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2012/12/two-cops-arrested-for-taking-items-from-jenni-rivera-plane-crash-site/

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More similar than they think: Liberals and conservatives exaggerate perceived moral views

More similar than they think: Liberals and conservatives exaggerate perceived moral views

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Moral stereotypes about "typical" liberals and conservatives held by both groups are generally correct, but exaggerated both for their own group and the other, according to new research published December 12 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Jesse Graham at the University of Southern California and his colleagues at the University of Virginia and New York University.

The researchers asked 2,212 U.S participants to answer questions about moral beliefs either with their own views, or with their idea of a typical liberal or conservative person's answers. They found that liberals endorsed individualistic moral concerns of compassion and fairness more than conservatives, and conservatives endorsed group-focused concerns such as loyalty and respect for authority. Across the political spectrum, participants' responses correctly reflected the moral endorsements of "typical" liberals and conservatives, but increased the extremity of the views. The authors found that these perceived stereotypes exaggerated the moral ideologies of both the respondent's own group as well as that of the other group, and that liberals were least accurate about the views held by both groups.

Graham explains, "Rather than finding that liberals think conservatives are immoral, and conservatives think the same about liberals, we found that all three groups shared exaggerated moral stereotypes about partisans on either side. These moral stereotypes were basically that liberals don't care at all about loyalty, authority, and sanctity, and that conservatives don't care at all about compassion, fairness, and equality. The findings suggest that liberals and conservatives, while differing systematically in their moral worldviews, are actually more similar in their moral judgments than anyone thinks."

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Graham J, Nosek BA, Haidt J (2012) The Moral Stereotypes of Liberals and Conservatives: Exaggeration of Differences across the Political Spectrum. PLoS ONE 7(12): e50092. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0050092

Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org

Thanks to Public Library of Science for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125909/More_similar_than_they_think__Liberals_and_conservatives_exaggerate_perceived_moral_views

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95% Argo

All Critics (242) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (231) | Rotten (11)

'Argo' is one of the best movies of the year.

Argo has that solid, kick-the-tires feel of those studio films from the 70s that were about something but also entertained. Only it's as laugh outright amusing as it is sobering.

The movieland satire is laid on thick, but it's also deadly accurate. Schlock has never seemed so patriotic, and Arkin and Goodman have rarely been so good.

Argo is a rollicking yarn, easily the most cohesive and technically accomplished of Affleck's three films so far, but a part of me wishes the director hadn't cast himself in the lead role.

If nothing else, it proves that every so often, the CIA can pull something off - and that yes, Canadians are just about the nicest people on the planet.

The film is a whopper of a tale, one designed for Oscar nominations, Best Picture and Best Director among them.

When Tony (Ben Affleck) lands in Tehran and trains the frightened Americans to play their parts as a Canadian film crew, Argo compares the ruses run by governments and movie studios.

The whole thing is paced like a whip, and the third act may literally be the most suspenseful piece of film I've ever seen - and yes, I have seen Rear Window. Recommended without any reservation for every and any cinemagoer.

A terrific supporting cast, especially the non A-list actors, make the dramatic license taken justified and redeem Affleck for miscasting himself in the hero's role.

A brilliant thriller that's based on a historical incident, 'Argo' is one of the best films of 2012.

A wonderfully lively and engrossing movie ...

An enthralling and deliciously entertaining movie -- and a deserved triumph for its star and director.

The details make for a rip-roaring story, which Affleck invests with old-school directorial ?lan.

Ben Affleck leaps on to the A-list of directors with this relentlessly entertaining thriller, combining comedy and nerve-jangling suspense to maximum effect.

If you're a nailbiter, bring gloves, because the suspense will see you reach your knuckles.

Surprisingly enjoyable, given that you may have little prior commitment to this story and only mildly fancy Affleck.

Affleck skilfully turns the screw of suspense, gaining added traction from an extremely convincing recreation of the setting and period.

Ben Affleck's movie tells an amazing but true story set against the context of the Iranian hostage crisis.

Talent borrows and genius steals, but Affleck does something in between: he mimics.

It's impossible to be bored by a story this good, especially with that cast.

Part of what makes this headspinning story believable is the fact that it pans out in an oddly uncomplicated way.

The shaggy and bearded Ben Affleck, barely recognisable from his former self, gives a great lead performance. Understated, intense and steely-eyed, Affleck has the screen presence of legendary actor/director Clint Eastwood.

Affleck the director is utterly sure-footed with an instinctive feel for characterization, tension and pacing as he builds the action towards a nail-biting climax.

A dum-tight thriller demonstrating that Affleck is one of the most accomplished directors working in Hollywood today.

[A] gripping, beautifully performed and often very funny but dramatic thriller.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/argo_2012/

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After short absence, Google Maps returns to the Apple iPhone

Google Maps, which was temporarily banished by Apple from all iOS 6 devices, is back in style.?

By Matthew Shaer / December 13, 2012

Google Maps is returning to iOS 6 devices, including the Apple iPhone 5, pictured here.

Google

Enlarge

Back in September, Apple booted Google Maps from iOS 6, and replaced it with an in-house mapping application called Apple Maps. Panic ensued. Users, who had been leaning on Google Maps since the launch of the first iPhone, in 2007, suddenly found themselves saddled with a buggy, incomplete, and sometimes wildly incorrect piece of software.?

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"[Apple] Maps," seethed David Pogue of the New York Times, "is an appalling first release. It may be the most embarrassing, least usable piece of software Apple has ever unleashed."?

Now, a couple months later, Google Maps is returning to iOS 6-equipped iPhones and iPod Touch handsets. The new Google Maps app, which is available for download from the App Store, displays more map on the screen, and includes turn-by-turn navigation, a feature sorely missing from earlier iterations of the app (if not from Apple Maps). In addition, Google has added far more data on more than 80 million businesses, the Mountain View company says.?

Google Maps, Google's Daniel Graf wrote in a blog post today, is "designed from the ground up to combine the comprehensiveness and accuracy of Google Maps with an interface that makes finding what you?re looking for faster and easier.?The app shows more map on screen and turns mobile mapping into one intuitive experience."?

There is currently no customized iPad version of the overhauled Google Maps app, although as Greg Sterling of Search Engine Land notes, "the new Google Maps app will obviously also work on the iPad."

Happy to have Google Maps back? Drop us a line in the comments section. And hey, why not follow us on Twitter? Find us?@venturenaut.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/fQ-IOJxloh8/After-short-absence-Google-Maps-returns-to-the-Apple-iPhone

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FBI Takes 10 Alleged Botnet Operators Offline

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested 10 individuals from around the world, including the United States, which it alleges are part of an international cybercrime ring linked to the Yahos malware. Yahos is associated with the notorious Butterfly botnet, which compromised more than 11 million computer systems and resulted in an estimated $850 million in losses.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/2694fc7f/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C768540Bhtml/story01.htm

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Final celebrity burglary defendant enters plea

FILE - This Dec. 2, 2009 file photo shows Courtney Leigh Ames, 19, appearing in court in Los Angeles. Ames pleaded no contest Friday Dec. 14, 2012 to receiving a jacket stolen from heiress Paris Hilton. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, file)

FILE - This Dec. 2, 2009 file photo shows Courtney Leigh Ames, 19, appearing in court in Los Angeles. Ames pleaded no contest Friday Dec. 14, 2012 to receiving a jacket stolen from heiress Paris Hilton. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, file)

(AP) ? The final defendant in a group charged with burglarizing celebrities' homes pleaded no contest Friday to receiving a jacket stolen from Paris Hilton.

Courtney Leigh Ames entered the plea and is expected to be sentenced on Feb. 1 to three years of supervised probation and 60 days of community service.

Prosecutors dropped felony residential burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary charges and another count of receiving stolen property in exchange for the plea.

Ames, who had been charged with breaking into Hilton's home, had also been accused of wearing a necklace stolen from Lindsay Lohan's home to court.

Authorities arrested most of the group in October 2009 and accused them of a months-long crime spree that netted more than $3 million in clothes, jewelry and art from the homes of stars such as Lohan, Hilton, Orlando Bloom and Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green.

All the stars have agreed not to seek restitution for their losses.

"From day one, we always knew that Courtney was the least culpable player in this group," her attorney, Robert Schwartz, said after the hearing. "In no way am I condoning or minimizing what was done to these various celebrities, but to connect Courtney Ames with these burglaries was just false."

One of the defendants, Alexis Neiers, quickly ended her case and starred in the short-lived E! Entertainment Television reality show "Pretty Wild," which prominently featured the court case. Lifetime created a television movie inspired by the case and Oscar-winner Sofia Coppola has filmed a movie based on the burglaries and their fallout.

Coppola's film was aided by the lead investigator on the case, Los Angeles police office Brett Goodkin, who failed to disclose his paid work and appearance in the film. That became an issue in recent months and prompted Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler to call Goodkin's actions "stupid" and a gift to defense attorneys, but not egregious enough to warrant an outright dismissal of the charges against Ames and two other defendants.

Schwartz said he would have attacked Goodkin's credibility and his claims that Ames had confessed, if the case had gone to trial, although he acknowledged that if Ames had been convicted of any charges she likely would have faced stiffer penalties.

Had the case against the trio gone to trial, jurors would have heard directly from one of the group's ringleaders, Nicholas Frank Prugo. The 21-year-old pleaded no contest in March to burglarizing the homes of Lohan and reality star Audrina Patridge and is scheduled be sentenced to two years in prison in in January.

Another accused ringleader, Rachel Lee, pleaded no contest to burglarizing Patridge's home and is serving a four year state prison sentence.

A Louis Vuitton bag full of jewelry was returned to Hilton after several members of the group were arrested, but much of the stolen property hasn't been recovered.

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-12-14-Celebrities%20Burglarized/id-97d0126140aa4029944703b523a14d2e

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x40 (the queer-nundrum) | Mydnyht Rantings

The most recent episode of Glee briefly touched on an issue that?s often put on the back burner in the GLBTQ community. In case you aren?t familiar with the show, I?ll give you a little background about the three characters affected: the character of Santana Lopez is a late-in-life/closeted lesbian who eventually does come out as a gay woman even though she?s had past relationships with men. The character of Brittany Pierce is portrayed as bisexual, having both relationships with men and women, one of these women being Santana. The character of Sam Evans is a straight cisgender male who ends up falling for Brittany. When Sam asks Brittany out a few weeks after Santana ends their relationship, Brittany ? who is generally portrayed as a dunce ? has this to say:

?No, it?s not just Santana. It?s like, all the lesbians of the nation, and I don?t know how they found out about Santana and I dating, but once they did, they started sending me, like, tweets and Facebook messages on Lord Tubbington?s wall. I think it means a lot to them to see two super hot, popular girls in love, and I worry if they find out about you and I dating that they?ll turn on you and get really violent and hurt your beautiful face and mouth.?

Lesbians, as a general rule, are very bitchy about women who are either a) bisexual/queer or b) have had relationships with men in the past. ?Gold star lesbians?, which refers to women who have only had romantic and sexual relationships with other women, hate knowing that their partner has been tainted by having had relationships with cisgender males. I need to stress ?cisgender? here, because there is a lot of transmisogyny within the lesbian community. It?s perfectly acceptable for a cisgender woman who identifies primarily as a lesbian to stay with her partner should her partner turn out to be a transman. Many lesbians, however, would never even consider pursuing a relationship with a transwoman, particularly one who is pre-op. One of the reasons I signed up for a transgender dating website several years ago is because trans lesbians are much more accepting of girls who identify as bisexual/queer or who have had past relationships with men (although the problematic and somewhat offensive nature of said website is something that deserves another whole blog entry dedicated to it). I hated justifying the confusing and fluid nature of my sexuality to other women. Regardless of whether or not I?m actually gay, if I didn?t identify as gay immediately and then apologize for having been in relationships with men, it hurt my chances of finding a cis female partner. I?ve had lesbians turn me down exactly for that reason. Which brings me to an interesting quotation by Cynthia Nixon, an actress (Miranda on ?Sex and the City?) who has had past relationships with men and is currently married to a woman:

?I gave a speech recently, an empowerment speech to a gay audience, and it included the line ?I?ve been straight and I?ve been gay, and gay is better.? ?And for me, it is a choice. I understand that for many people it?s not, but for me it?s a choice, and you don?t get to define my gayness for me. Why can?t it be a choice? Why is that any less legitimate? It seems we?re just ceding this point to bigots who are demanding it? I also feel like people think I was walking around in a cloud and didn?t realize I was gay, which I find really offensive. I find it offensive to me, but I also find it offensive to all the men I?ve been out with.?

I?d first like to note that, just because someone is different, it doesn?t mean they have to justify their different-ness to the world. That person is not obligated to be the poster child of their cause. Ergo, Nixon shouldn?t have to defend or explain her sexuality to anyone, ever, unless she genuinely wants to ? but she?s certainly not obligated to. I?d also like to note that human sexuality is extremely complicated and the more we try to box things, the sloppier those boxes get. It would appear to me that Cynthia Nixon is bisexual and chooses ? note my use of the word ?choice? ? to identify as a lesbian because it makes it more palatable to other gay women. And that, my friends, is sad ? and certainly not sad on Nixon?s part, but on the part of the divisive lesbian community. And in case this wasn?t obvious, I don?t know Nixon and I don?t know anything about her sexuality other than what she has stated to the media, so I could be completely wrong in my statement that I believe her to be a bisexual woman who is sick of being looked down upon by lesbians. Maybe for Nixon, identifying as straight turned gay by choice is easier or more palatable than the term ?bisexual?, which is certainly understandable. I?ve always hated using the term ?lesbian? to describe my sexuality, and I would much rather be referred to as a gay woman. I think I even preferred identifying as gay over queer when I was with men (although my confusion regarding my sexuality is something for another blog post). I?ve always preferred the term ?queer? over ?bisexual?; ?pansexual?, which is the more PC alternative to ?queer? (a word with a lot of negative baggage attached), never really struck a chord with me either (and it?s worth noting that ?pansexual? has some unsavory connotations associated with it, although it was never used as an epithet like ?queer? was). Words are weird.
Finally, I?d like to finish up by highlighting something Nixon said:

?Why can?t it be a choice? Why is that any less legitimate? It seems we?re just ceding this point to bigots who are demanding it??

I?ve seen this topic discussed on other GLBTQ blogs, and I?d like to discuss it here: it is entirely possible that the whole ?born this way? movement might not be the way the gay community should go. Yes, most people state that their romantic, emotional, physical, and sexual attractions are something that is innate and that they have little to no control over. But let?s say that being gay IS a choice ? it?s still not a bad choice. I feel that the topics of slut shaming and choosing a life of celibacy (the route that many Abrahamic religious institutions encourage gay people to take) are closely tied in here. What one, two, or more consenting adults do in their personal life is entirely up to them. So long as consent is given, the choices they make should not be shamed or judged by other adults who are not involved. The idea that you?re born gay shouldn?t need to justify the act of pursuing a gay relationship. Whether you?re gay, straight, queer, or asexual, your sex life requires some element of choice, and whether you?re gay, straight, queer, or asexual, chances are there?s someone out there who is going to try to slut shame you into thinking your choice is immoral. Going back to the original topic of this essay, bisexual women are probably the most slut shamed group I know of, and they get this flak from both the straight and GLBTQ communities.
Human sexuality is complicated. But with the exception of sex acts that take place without the consent of the involved parties, it isn?t bad. I?ll leave you with this YouTube video as you ponder your thoughts:

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Source: http://mydnyht.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/x39-the-queer-nundrum/

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