Famous People Tend to Stay Famous

Discovered:?Get used to Bieber and Kardashian;?a human/Neanderthal love child; DNA tests could predict cancer risks; the intuition of rats.

RELATED: Just a Few Facebook Likes Can Reveal Sexual Orientation

Famous people tend to stay famous. Pop artist Andy Warhol once declared that everyone, at some some point in the future, "would be world-famous for 15?minutes." But according to two professors ? one at McGill, the other at Stony Brook ??true fame is everlasting: "Contrary to popular belief, the people who become truly famous, stay famous for decades." The pair's paper shows that, despite our animosity toward the super-famous ? think Justin Bieber or Kim Kardashian ? they're pretty much here to stay. Why? The authors suggest fame is something of a self-fulfilling prophecy: "Both media and audiences are trapped in a self-reinforcing equilibrium where they must continue to devote attention, airtime, and newspaper space to the same old characters because everyone else does so as well." [American Sociological Review]

RELATED: There's a Two-Headed Bull Shark

Skeletal remains indicate a human/Neanderthal hybrid. We know all about Neanderthals ? a human-like ape species that inhabited west-central Asia and Europe hundreds of thousands of years ago. But until now we didn't know if they ever successfully bred with ancient humans. A skeleton recently discovered in Italy, however, indicates that that at least one female Neanderthal was able to mate with a male human. Still, this doesn't that the populations converged: "Although the hybridization between the two hominid species likely took place, the Neanderthals continued to uphold their own cultural traditions [which] suggests that the two populations did not simply meet, mate and merge into a single group." [NBC Science]

RELATED: Babies Are Evil, Just Like Us

DNA markers portend risk of cancer. A simple test of one's genes could one day predict your risk of cancer. That's the takeaway from a study of 200,000 individuals which indicates that certain markers embedded in one's DNA are routinely associated with a pronounced risk of cancer. It's not so much each marker that's important ? it's the number of them and pattern they form that could indicate a higher propensity to develop cancer. Even though the routine use of these markers is still far out in the future, the medical application is already obvious: "Under certain assumptions, a gene test using all known markers could reduce the number of mammograms and PSA tests by around 20 percent, with only a small cost in cancer cases missed." [Associated Press]

RELATED: Humans Descended from a Tiny Worm

You should trust your intuition. Is pondering useless? In rats, at least, it seems so. A group of researchers in Portugal found that the rodents performed equally well on a series of tasks when given a short time and a long time to decide. "When rats were challenged with a series of perceptual decision problems, their performance was just as good when they decided rapidly as when they took a much longer time to respond. Despite being encouraged to slow down and try harder, the subjects of this study achieved their maximum performance in less than 300 milliseconds." It's yet to be seen whether the results bear on the intuitive faculties of the human race. The researchers are optimistic, though: "Decision-making is not a well-understood process, but it appears to be surprisingly similar among species," one said. [Neuron]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/famous-people-tend-stay-famous-221855253.html

the Rumble 2012 Columbus Day 2012 carlina white Sam Champion Engaged Infield fly rule Taken 2 Venezuela Elections

Kissing Brad Pitt Disgusting? Kirsten Dunst Thought So!

Kissing Brad Pitt Disgusting? Kirsten Dunst Thought So!

Kissing Brad Pitt Disgusting? Kirsten Dunst Thought So! Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/03/kissing-brad-pitt-disgusting-kirsten-dunst-thinks-so/

philadelphia eagles obamacare Todd Akin Register To Vote Fox News Live Obama 2016 Who Is Winning The Election 2012

Prosecutor sees Punxsutawney Phil pushing daisies for forecast fraud

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Are Punxsutawney Phil's days numbered after an Ohio prosecutor indicted him and said he deserves the death penalty?

By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

An Ohio prosecutor says Punxsutawney Phil should be predicting the weather from six feet under.

With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Michael Gmoser, the prosecuting attorney in Butler County, filed court papers this week indicting the world-famous groundhog for "misrepresentation of early spring" and announcing his intention to seek the death penalty.

"This is a ground-breaking indictment," Gmoser said Friday as he fielded phone calls from around the world about the light-hearted legal battle. "There's a lot of people who want a piece of him. I know because I'm getting recipes from around the country."

On Feb. 2, Phil forecast an early spring when he emerged from his Pennsylvania home and did not see his shadow. Six weeks later, Gmoser looked out his window to snow, high winds and frigid air.

---

"I said to someone, 'Phil let us down. I ought to indict the little rascal.' They said, 'Why don't you?' and I said, 'I think I will,'" the prosecutor said.

He said he had to seek the ultimate penalty because otherwise the indictment would have had no teeth.

Courtesy Butler County prosecutor's office

Butler County prosecutor Michael Gmoser filed indictment papers against Punxsutawney Phil for falsely predicting an early spring.

"Phil right now is in jail, behind bars, serving a life sentence. Because of that, there's nothing left for Phil but the death penalty," Gmoser said.

He was laughing, but sadly, not everyone got the joke.

"Frankly, I have received a number of phone calls from people who think this is a serious story," he said. "It's a spoof. We do some real serious work regarding rape, murder and mayhem and it's something to lighten the spirits of folks around here."

Phil could not be reached for comment, but Jeffrey Lundy, vice president of the Punxsutawney Ground Hog Club, said there was no chance of extradition.

?He's going to have to go through 15 licensed hunters to get to Phil,? Lundy told Triblive.com.

?

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/29e2f611/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C220C174187130Eprosecutor0Esees0Epunxsutawney0Ephil0Epushing0Edaisies0Efor0Eforecast0Efraud0Dlite/story01.htm

cnbc dexter dexter ny times paul mccartney Sandy Hook Victims new york times

What are the REAL Causes of Bankruptcy? - Bargaineering

?The popular conception is that people who file bankruptcy buy about three TVs a week and then fly to Aruba to relax,? Daniel Gershburg, Esq., says.

Gershburg is a bankruptcy lawyer in New York City, and he sees a number of cases each year. ?Realistically, only a handful of cases fall into that category. There is so much more to bankruptcy.?

Some of the reasons that Gershburg cites include job loss, medical bills, and the accumulation of smaller bills that get out of control. But are these the main reasons that people go bankrupt? And what can consumers do about it?

Medical Expenses and Bankruptcy

In 2009, Harvard released the results of a study that indicated that 62% of bankruptcies were caused by medical expenses. On top of that, the study exploded the myth that health insurance can help you avoid personal bankruptcy due to medical bills. The study found that 78% of those who went bankrupt due to medical bills actually had health insurance.

The problem is that when medical catastrophe strikes, there are often deductibles and co-pays that need to be met. And, even after you meet your own obligations, there are instances where your health plan will only cover about 80% of your costs. That means that if you have a major hospitalization costing $200,000, you are still responsible for 20% of the cost ? or $40,000. That?s a lot for many middle class families, and many of them can?t handle that kind of expense.

However, the situation isn?t as simple as it might look at first glance. Often, the medical bills represent the final straw. There might be other factors involved, such as debt, an underwater mortgage, and reduction in work hours. Everything combined can weigh on a consumer until it?s too much. Finally, a health care setback resulting in a major cost (even with health insurance) can lead to bankruptcy.

How Big of a Problem is Overextension?

If medical costs are often the final straw, is overextension the real reason for bankruptcy? Mark Billion, a lawyer and founder of Billion Law, points out that overextension alone really is one of the least common reasons for bankruptcy in the current market.

?While some people continue to spend more than they make, the credit crunch and general anxiety among consumers has largely curbed this,? Billion insists. If overextension is an issue, it comes as a result of tragedy. ?Job loss and illness lead to maxed out credit cards, mortgage defaults, and repossessions.?

Billion continues: ?This in turn often leads to payday loans that the client thinks will ?buy some time? to get back on track. These loans actually suck the last remaining liquidity from the balance sheet.?

Another issue that Billion runs into with bankruptcy clients is what he calls ?expectation failure.? Many consumers think that they will be able to make a certain amount of money, or they expect to see assets grow. When these expectations aren?t realized, they are often in too deep. One big evidence of this situation is related to the real estate crash and the recent financial crisis. ?People have to sell homes that they cannot unload for anywhere what they owe,? Billion says. ?They have little equity cushion because they believed that home prices would not fall.?

When assets lose value instead of gain, or when higher pay fails to materialize, expectations are dashed, and the plans made based on these expectations can crumble into bankruptcy.

Bottom Line

In reality, bankruptcy is rarely caused by one thing. Often, a middle class family with a ?normal? amount of debt runs into a financial setback. These setbacks can include medical catastrophe, job loss, or divorce. Finances might not be strained when the problem occurs, but any stress on the situation can mean financial issues big enough for bankruptcy.

What do you think are the causes of bankruptcy? What would you do if faced with bankruptcy?

(Photo: StockMonkeys.com)

{ 3 comments, please add your thoughts now! }

Related Posts

Source: http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/real-bankruptcy.html

swain match day nene dark shadows trailer nate mcmillan clooney arrested southern miss

Myaamia Project becomes Myaamia Center at Miami University

OXFORD, OH (FOX19) - Miami University is expanding the Myaamia Project by launching the Myaamia Center on the Oxford campus.

The center will carry forward the work of revitalizing Myaamia language and culture that began through the project more than a decade?ago.

The Myaamia Center is a tribally directed research entity with two main purposes. The first is to conduct in-depth research to assist tribal educational initiatives aimed at the preservation of language and culture. This research creates a wide range of educational models and materials for community language and cultural programs.

The second purpose is to expose undergraduate and graduate students at Miami University to tribal efforts in revitalizing their language and culture. Students gain experience through a wide range of activities including visits to tribal headquarters in Oklahoma, direct involvement in research initiatives, class visitations by center staff and access to Miami Tribe language and cultural resources.

?

?

?

Source: http://butlercounty.fox19.com/news/news/106941-myaamia-project-becomes-myaamia-center-miami-university

vice presidential debate Martha Raddatz Chris Lighty JJ Watt jerry sandusky johnny depp hayden panettiere

Beats is either 'in talks' with Apple over new music-streaming service, or it's just very good at marketing

Excuse us, but we find it hard to swallow some of the hype that swirls around the Beats brand. That sounds harsh, maybe, but it's borne out of experience. Anyway, we do trust Reuters, and that outlet claims to have it on good authority that Beats is "in talks" with Apple over a partnership involving the forthcoming Daisy music-streaming service that was formerly MOG. The word is that Tim Cook attended an "informational" meeting with Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine and "expressed interest" in his business model -- whatever that is -- and that Apple's head of Internet products, Eddy Cue, was also present.

In news that is very much related, Beats has also revealed that it's managed to generate enough buzz around the $12 million acquisition of MOG to raise a further $60 million in investment to help it to launch the rebranded and hopefully expanded service as a separate entity later this year. It'll be interesting to see how the newcomer plans to tackle the already-entrenched competition, possibly with curated playlists and other MySpace-style ideas, and we're fully prepared to eat our skeptics' hats if it succeeds.

Filed under: Internet

Comments

Via: VentureBeat

Source: Reuters

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/SNe6Oj1Zijs/

ncaa final game reba mcentire acm awards the killing april fools global payments eli young band

Officials alarmed by increasing superbug reports

NEW YORK (AP) ? Health officials say there's been an alarming increase in some dangerous superbugs at U.S. hospitals.

These superbugs are common germs that have become extremely resistant to treatment with antibiotics.

The number of hospitals reporting infections with these superbugs is still small. But a government report shows 1 in 25 hospitals saw at least one case last year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the new tally Tuesday. They're urging hospital workers to take steps to keep the germs from spreading.

The dangerous germs can cause pneumonia and urinary tract and bloodstream infections in vulnerable, hospitalized patients.

___

Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/officials-alarmed-increasing-superbug-reports-183332836.html

chris brown and rihanna nightline brady quinn brady quinn bloom box obama sweet home chicago accenture match play

Dancing with the Stars Promo: The Sexy is Back!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/dancing-with-the-stars-promo-the-sexy-is-back/

Ray Lewis Murder UFC 156 my bloody valentine Super Bowl Winners what time does the superbowl start Kaepernick Tattoos superbowl time

Deep in debt, farmers fuel kidney donation racket in AP

Baram Venkat Reddy is only 29 but he looks much older than his age with drooping shoulders and lazy steps.

A native of Machavaram village in Pidiguralla block in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, Baram has no hope for future. He has sold everything he had - his half-acre land, 80 gm of gold ornaments of his wife and one of his kidneys - to clear his debt.

Still a large part of his loan stares at him. Baram, a tenant farmer in Rentachintala, incurred a loss of over Rs 5 lakh on his chilli crop last year.

Driven to desperation, Baram followed the advice of one Srinivas and decided to trade his kidney for a "substantial amount".

On February 2, he underwent surgery at a hospital in Secunderabad where his left kidney was transplanted in a 30-year-old person hailing from Kukatpally on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

"I am happy that I could save a life. But I do not know about my own fate. I have done my job on humanitarian ground," Baram told Mail Today. He refused to divulge the amount he got for selling his kidney but said it wasn't enough to repay his loan.

Same was the case with another tenant farmer Maraboyina Appa Rao (30), who fled to Macherla from Rentachintala after money lenders started hounding him.

Two touts - Tailor Seenu and Sai Kumar - promised him Rs 4.5 lakh if he "donated" his kidney. "After the surgery, I was paid only Rs 1.75 lakh. I could not clear my debts and the money lenders are still after me," lamented Appa Rao, who is currently working as a construction labourer.

According to Vijay Kumar, an employee working in Rentachintala milk chilling centre, there are at least seven other farmers who have been paid a few thousand rupees for "donating" their kidneys in Hyderabad.

The reason for this alarming situation, Vijay said, is the big kidney sale racket that surfaced in the Palnad area between 1998 and 2000.

The Palnad area, comprising Macherla, Kambhampadu, Rentachintala, Dachepalli and Piduguralla blocks, has mostly rain-fed cultivation. It is dominated by big farmers who lease out their land to landless farmers.

They collect lease amount of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per acre in advance from tenant farmers, who have to bear the risk of cultivation. In a good season, they make enough money, but if there is a crop failure, they plunge into deep debt.

"With the drought condition and unseasonal rain wreaking havoc on crops in Palnad area for the last three years, the tenant farmers are forced to sell their kidneys. This is being exploited by the kidney brokers who have surfaced in the area again," he said.

Source: http://indiatoday.feedsportal.com/c/33614/f/589700/s/293f4d34/l/0Lindiatoday0Bintoday0Bin0Cstory0Cdeep0Ein0Edebt0Efarmers0Efuel0Ekidney0Edonation0Eracket0Eap0Eindia0Etoday0C10C2566280Bhtml/story01.htm

international womens day joe the plumber lra lra eric johnson eric johnson big east tournament

Malaysian troops attack armed Filipino group in Borneo

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian troops backed by fighter jets attacked an armed Filipino group on Tuesday, trying to end a standoff on Borneo island after violence that killed at least 27 people and sparked fears of broader insecurity in the resource-rich area.

The operation to seize an area occupied by about 180 Filipinos, dozens of them armed, began at 7 a.m. (2300 GMT Monday), a day after the government sent seven army battalions to Malaysia's eastern Sabah state to reinforce police.

Malaysian media reported local residents as saying they heard several explosions and saw fighter jets circling over the coastal area near the town of Lahad Datu.

"The government has to take the right action in order to preserve the pride and sovereignty of this country," Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement.

The group, which arrived by boat about three weeks ago, say they are descendants of the sultanate of Sulu in the southern Philippines, which ruled parts of northern Borneo for centuries. They are demanding recognition and an increased payment from Malaysia for their claim as the rightful owners of Sabah.

Malaysia has refused their demands. The Philippine government has repeatedly told the group that it was ready to talk but has urged them to first put down their arms and go home.

"We've done everything we could to prevent this but in the end Kiram's people chose this path," said Ricky Carandang, a spokesman for Philippine President Benigno Aquino, using the sultan's family name.

The violence has sparked a political crisis ahead of elections for both governments.

Prolonged insecurity could also affect Sabah's huge palm oil industry and dampen growing investor interest in energy and infrastructure projects in the state, although the main oil fields are far from the trouble.

Oil majors such as ConocoPhillips and Shell have poured in billions of dollars to develop oil and gas fields in Sabah. Chinese companies have been investing in hydro-power and coal mining.

Two policemen were killed along with 12 militants when Malaysian security forces tried to tighten a cordon around the armed group on Friday. That sparked more violence over the weekend with six policemen and seven more gunmen killed in another area, raising concerns the violence was spreading.

"As a Muslim country that values peace and solves conflict through discussion, our effort to avoid bloodshed in Lahad Datu has not been successful," Najib said.

"Instead, members of our safety team have been attacked and killed, Malaysian civilians in Sabah are worried of their personal safety."

The violence presents Najib with a security headache that could delay an election that must be held by June, adding to nervousness among investors over what could be the country's closest ever polls.

Aquino, facing congressional elections in May, has come under pressure from opponents for supporting Malaysia's rejection of the group's claim to Sabah, which remains a dormant Philippine policy goal.

He in turn has suggested the political opposition encouraged the intrusion as a way of undermining a historic peace deal signed with Muslim rebels last year and embarrassing the government ahead of the elections.

The Philippine foreign secretary flew to Malaysia on Monday to urge "maximum tolerance" against the group. Aquino urged Malaysia not to harm the interests of an estimated 800,000 Filipinos in Sabah, where many work in palm oil plantations.

The Philippines was also asking permission for a Philippine navy vessel to be allowed to provide humanitarian, medical and consular assistance and to take the armed group home.

(Reporting by Niluksi Koswanage and Al Zaquan Amer Hamzah; Writing by Stuart Grudgings; Editing by Dean Yates)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/malaysian-army-launches-attack-armed-philippine-group-sabah-001517394.html

2012 senior bowl chuck series finale welcome back kotter 2001 a space odyssey barefoot bandit polar bear plunge lovelace

Police out in force as strike cripples Bangladesh | Morocco World ...

DHAKA, March 4, 2013 (AFP)

Schools and businesses were shut Monday across Bangladesh on the second day of a general strike as huge numbers of police were deployed to put a halt to the deadliest bout of violence since independence.

Sixty-one people are now known to have died in clashes since Thursday when Islamists erupted in outrage at the sentencing to death of one of their leaders who was convicted of war crimes dating back to the 1971 liberation conflict.

Delwar Hossain Sayedee, who is the vice-president of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was the third Islamist to be sentenced by the domestic tribunal.

Although there were no immediate reports of fresh violence on Monday, police did confirm the death of a man in the southwestern district of Satkhira following clashes on Sunday between border guards and Jamaat supporters.

The latest death brought the overall toll to 77 people since the court handed down its first verdict on January 21, making it the bloodiest round of violence since the country broke free from Pakistan more than four decades.

The verdicts and the ensuing violence prompted Jamaat to call a two-day nationwide strike that began Sunday and has virtually crippled the country.

As well as the closure of shops, schools and government offices, the main road between the capital Dhaka and the second city Chittagong was virtually deserted on Monday as were other inter-city highways.

The numbers of security personnel have been beefed up throughout the country, particularly in Dhaka where around 10,000 policemen and members of the elite Rapid Action Battalion were on duty Monday.

As part of their protests, the Islamists have managed to blockade a highway leading to the popular Cox?s Bazar tourist region, where several hundred holidaymakers have been trapped including some foreigners.

District police chief Azad Miah told AFP that while more than 3,000 tourists had been able to leave since Thursday, mostly having flown out of the local airport, around 700 remained stranded.

The government has banned rallies and gatherings in at least four towns in the north to quell violence, police said.

The war crimes trials of a dozen leaders from Jamaat and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party have opened old wounds and divided the nation, with the opposition accusing the government of staging a witch-hunt.

The government, which says the 1971 war claimed three million lives, rejects the claims and accuses Jamaat leaders of being part of pro-Pakistani militias blamed for much of the carnage during the war.

Independent estimates put the death toll from the war at between 300,000 and 500,000.

Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/03/80943/police-out-in-force-as-strike-cripples-bangladesh/

paterno newt gingrich joe pa joe pa joe paterno dead marist south carolina primary results

Man-made material pushes the bounds of superconductivity

Monday, March 4, 2013

A multi-university team of researchers has artificially engineered a unique multilayer material that could lead to breakthroughs in both superconductivity research and in real-world applications.

The researchers can tailor the material, which seamlessly alternates between metal and oxide layers, to achieve extraordinary superconducting properties ? in particular, the ability to transport much more electrical current than non-engineered materials.

The team includes experts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Florida State University and the University of Michigan. Led by Chang-Beom Eom, the Harvey D. Spangler Distinguished Professor of materials science and engineering and physics at UW-Madison, the group described its breakthrough March 3, 2013, in the advance online edition of the journal Nature Materials.

Superconductors, which presently operate only under extremely cold conditions, transport energy very efficiently. With the ability to transport large electrical currents and produce high magnetic fields, they power such existing technologies as magnetic resonance imaging and Maglev trains, among others. They hold great potential for emerging applications in electronic devices, transportation, and power transmission, generation and storage.

Carefully layered superconducting materials are increasingly important in highly sophisticated applications. For example, a superconducting quantum interference device, or SQUID, used to measure subtle magnetic fields in magnetoencephalography scans of the brain, is based on a three-layer material.

However, one challenge in the quest to understand and leverage superconductivity is developing materials that work at room temperature. Currently, even unconventional high-temperature superconductors operate below -369 degrees Fahrenheit.

An unconventional high-temperature superconductor, the researchers' iron-based "pnictide" material is promising in part because its effective operating temperature is higher than that of conventional superconducting materials such as niobium, lead or mercury.

The research team engineered and measured the properties of superlattices of pnictide superconductors. A superlattice is the complex, regularly repeating geometric arrangement of atoms ? its crystal structure ? in layers of two or more materials. Pnictide superconductors include compounds made from any of five elements in the nitrogen family of the periodic table.

The researchers' new material is composed of 24 layers that alternate between the pnictide superconductor and a layer of the oxide strontium titanate. Creating such systems is difficult, especially when the arrangement of atoms, and chemical compatibility, of each material is very different.

Yet, layer after layer, the researchers maintained an atomically sharp interface ? the region where materials meet. Each atom in each layer is precisely placed, spaced and arranged in a regularly repeating crystal structure.

The new material also has improved current-carrying capabilities. As they grew the superlattice, the researchers also added a tiny bit of oxygen to intentionally insert defects every few nanometers in the material. These defects act as pinning centers to immobilize tiny magnetic vortices that, as they grow in strength in large magnetic fields, can limit current flow through the superconductor. "If the vortices move around freely, the energy dissipates, and the superconductor is no longer lossless," says Eom. "We have engineered both vertical and planar pinning centers, because vortices created by magnetic fields can be in many different orientations."

Eom sees possibilities for researchers to expand upon his team's success in engineering man-made superconducting structures. "There's a need to engineer superlattices for understanding fundamental superconductivity, for potential use in high-field and electronic devices, and to achieve extraordinary properties in the system," says Eom. "And, there is indication that interfaces can be a new area of discovery in high-temperature superconductors. This material offers those possibilities."

###

University of Wisconsin-Madison: http://www.wisc.edu

Thanks to University of Wisconsin-Madison 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.

This press release has been viewed 16 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127112/Man_made_material_pushes_the_bounds_of_superconductivity

tenacious d steve smith zou bisou bisou tim tebow press conference tebow press conference trina rob dyrdek