Sarah Kaufman: The silent, violent showstopper

Esther Lin, Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

One of the greatest fights of 2012 came on the same fight card as one of the most memorable. Sarah Kaufman and Alexis Davis fought in Columbus in March of that year, a Strikeforce event that was headlined by Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate. Everyone remembers Rousey contorting Tate’s arm into alarming states of disfigurement en-route to winning the bantamweight belt.

Less remembered was the ridiculous fight Kaufman gave Davis (and vice-versa).

In the encounter, the former bantamweight champion Kaufman and Davis stood toe-to-toe and traded dukes, kicks and elbows, tossed, rag-dolled, and strafed each other, clawed, kneed and pummeled one another to the edge of physical endurance. It wasn’t the tired old cliché of Bonnar-Griffin, which was the right fight at the right time; it was quieter due to its placement. This was two smiling forward-moving heathens doing it for the joy of fighting. It was clear that both Davis and Kaufman were enjoying themselves capitally from bell to bell.

As Kaufman gets set to make her UFC debut on Saturday night in Houston against Jessica Eye, the British Columbian war horse wouldn’t mind giving the fans another hissing live wire of a fight like that one with Davis. Or even Leslie Smith, who was her latest casualty from the Invicta cage last April.

The only thing she needs is an accommodating opponent.

"Honestly, with both Alexis and Leslie, we all have such similar styles we all like to get in there and throw down, and those are the fights I like," Kaufman told MMA Fighting. "To me that’s fun. Getting hit, hitting back, having that challenge of who can go longer and faster and harder…those are the fights I love. And the fans love them, too.

"Those are the fights you make your name off of. Granted, if I got a five-second knockout, how happy would I be? Wee, happy! But I also love feeling when I leave like I was in a fight."

If Kaufman isn’t shotgun to the UFC’s bantamweight title, she’s at least in the vehicle. She defeated Miesha Tate -- who will get her rematch with Rousey at UFC 168 in December -- back in 2009. So there’s leverage for a title push were she to get past Eye.

But it’s complicated in the new wilderness of the women’s bantamweight division. Kaufman already fought Rousey in August 2012 and lost via armbar in less than a minute. That loss exists on historical record, even if the UFC doesn’t like to carry over history from other promotions (even the ones Zuffa owns). And then there’s the hovering presence of Cat Zingano, who was supposed to be in the contender’s seat right now before a knee injury forced her to the sidelines.

Where Kaufman sits in the division is…somewhere near the top.

"I could see with a good win [over Eye], depending on when Cat Zingano is back, giving me a fight with Cat, or giving me a title shot right away," Kaufman says. "I’ve already fought Liz Carmouche. I’ve already fought Alexis Davis. I’ve already fought Miesha Tate. But, honestly, I feel like Cat Zingano would be a pretty interesting fight for that next shot at the title."

Not that she’s looking past Eye, who is coming off a victory over Carina Damm and is riding a seven-fight winning streak overall. Eye is also making her UFC debut, and has looked better each time out in her NAAFS and Bellator bouts.

"I think she’s a great opponent, and that it’s a very exciting fight for the fans – and it’s a very exciting fight for me," Kaufman says. "It’s going to get me in there and give me the opportunity to let loose a little bit, and have some fun. By ‘have fun’ I mean serious and focused, but I like fighting. I don’t like to have to worry too much about, what if they try and stall the fight to wrestle me down? Or whatever the case may be. I like those exciting fights and the opportunity to let loose. It’s what I like to do -- let loose and have fun in the cage."

Kaufman was supposed to have made her UFC debut in August against Sarah McMann, but McMann was forced to pull out with a personal issue. She calls the bait-and-switch "very frustrating," though she’s had enough experience in the spotlight to know how to roll with the punches.

"If five people are watching, or if five million people are watching, I want to perform the same," she says. "I’m ready. I’ve performed at some of the biggest stages of the world already, and so this is the next step up for me."

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/10/18/4848338/sarah-kaufman-the-silent-violent-showstopper
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Factbox: German coalition watch: Merkel to focus on Social Democrats after Greens end talks

Chancellor Angela Merkel led her conservatives to their best result in over two decades in a German election on September 22 but must still find a coalition partner to secure a third term.

A second round of exploratory talks with the Greens saw the environmentalist party conclude that further talks with the conservatives would be fruitless, leaving Merkel to focus on negotiations with the Social Democrats (SPD).

Below are key coalition-related quotes from senior officials, as well as areas of potential compromise on policy and personnel.

COALITION CHATTER

HERMANN GROEHE (CDU)

"Representatives of the CDU/CSU and the Greens led further intensive exploratory talks again today to find out whether it would make sense to enter coalition negotiations to build a government together... I inform you that the exploratory talks will not be continued and that coalition talks will not be entered into."

"I want to stress also that even in areas where there were differences, there were none which we would have viewed as insurmountable. And at the same time there is a clear no from us to the massive tax increases that the Greens see as inevitable - and which from our conviction … are out of the question."

"After these talks the Greens do not find themselves able to enter coalition talks. We respect this decision of course. We will approach the representatives of the SPD tomorrow with a view to scheduling the explorative talks we had already eyed for Thursday."

ALEXANDER DOBRINDT (CSU)

"The talks were very serious, to be honest, more serious than expected at the beginning. The mood was good, factual and quiet. We noticed that the Greens made a long part of the journey towards us but some distance remained and the Greens were not willing to bridge that distance. My feeling was that the Greens have understood the election result ... but were unable to take on the responsibility."

"From our side we did not see any problems that would have been insurmountable... We made clear what is not doable with us on taxes. That's a clear statement that can't be changed and the Greens made clear that that is a threshold they can't cross."

CEM OEZDEMIR (GREENS)

"Of course there's a regret that the bridge can't be built strongly enough to last for four years. We appreciate the shift (from the CDU/CSU) but for us it is not enough yet."

"The door has not been nailed shut with nails you can't pull out but that's a hypothetical question and one should not give hypothetical answers to hypothetical questions."

CLAUDIA ROTH, GREENS

"When we asked how should investment in the future, in education, climate policy and such be financed? We did not present our party program with all our own financial estimates but asked how do you want to finance it? We didn't say it had to be done exactly as we proposed ... but how does the other side want to solve the challenges? We negotiated twice and discussed all points from A to Z in depth and don't think that there can be substantial change in a third round of talks."

POTENTIAL POLICY COMPROMISES

TAXES - During the campaign, the SPD urged a hike in tax rates on incomes above 100,000 euros to 49 from 42 percent to pay for higher investments in infrastructure, education and research. Merkel and her conservatives are open to higher public investment but have ruled out financing this through tax hikes or higher debt. Both sides have signaled a readiness to compromise, but finding the required revenues will be difficult. One solution for bringing more cash in longer-term would be to close tax loopholes for multinational corporations.

WAGES - The SPD has made a nationwide minimum wage one of its main demands in exploratory coalition talks. The CDU/CSU, which only supports "wage floors" on a regional or sectoral basis, may have to accept some form of blanket minimum wage, but it could end up lower than the 8.50 euros the SPD wants.

EUROPE - No insurmountable differences. The SPD would seek symbolic steps to promote growth in struggling euro zone states, but is unlikely to press for more German taxpayer money to be used for this purpose. It will push for a financial transactions tax and faster movement towards a banking union, where banks themselves shoulder the costs of restructuring. The SPD is not expected to push hard for debt mutualisation, despite having backed the idea of a debt redemption fund during its campaign.

ENERGY - The SPD and CDU/CSU could reach a compromise on scaling back subsidies for renewable energy. The Greens, however, would be a more difficult partner for the conservatives as they oppose lower renewables incentives.

BARGAINING FOR CABINET POSTS

* Finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has signaled a desire to stay in his post, and is said to have the support of Merkel. Unless the SPD or Greens insist on the finance ministry as a condition for entering a coalition with Merkel, Schaeuble is given a good chance of continuing in his current position.

* For the SPD, much will depend on party chairman Sigmar Gabriel, whose name has been linked to various ministries -- including labor, finance and foreign. He could also decide to opt out of government and take over the SPD leadership in parliament, though this could meet resistance from the party and incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier who is keen to stay put.

* If Gabriel is not in the cabinet, Steinmeier is seen as a candidate for the top SPD ministry, which could end up being foreign, finance or a new ministry grouping energy and infrastructure. SPD parliamentary whip Thomas Oppermann has also been mentioned as a possible finance minister, though interior or defense might be better fits. Chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrueck has made clear he will not have a role in a Merkel cabinet.

* Were the SPD to claim the finance ministry, one source said Merkel might want to shift Schaeuble to the foreign ministry. But the extensive travel involved in this post may prove too much of a burden for the wheelchair-bound Schaeuble.

* Apart from Schaeuble, the other member of Merkel's CDU who is seen as a lock for the cabinet is Ursula von der Leyen, who may be keen on the foreign ministry. If she were to get this post, or move into the parliamentary leadership role held by Volker Kauder, many would see it as a sign she was being groomed to succeed Merkel.

* It remains unclear whether the SPD's pre-election proposal to group together responsibility for all energy-related issues in one ministry -- they are currently shared between the economy and environment ministries -- will see the light of day. Merkel is likely to want someone she trusts to oversee her "Energiewende" shift from nuclear to renewable power.

(Compiled by Berlin bureau)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-german-coalition-watch-merkel-focus-social-democrats-234339387--sector.html
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U.S. nuclear arms modernization plan misguided: scientists' group

By David Alexander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Obama administration plan to spend $60 billion over the next 25 years to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal is misguided and violates the spirit of its pledge not to develop new nuclear arms, a Union of Concerned Scientists report said on Thursday.

The 81-page report by the independent nonprofit said the $60 billion for upgrading warheads is a fraction of what Washington plans to spend on its nuclear deterrent in the coming decades, on top of billions for new manufacturing facilities and billions more for delivery systems like submarines.

The spending comes despite President Barack Obama's endorsement of the goal of a world without nuclear weapons and his negotiation of the "New START" treaty with Russia, which committed the former Cold War rivals to reducing deployed strategic nuclear weapons to 1,550 each by 2018.

But Obama also has insisted that the United States must be confident that its remaining weapons will work as it attempts negotiate smaller and smaller nuclear arsenals with other atomic weapons states.

And he has come under pressure from Republicans to address the problems of the aging U.S. nuclear complex.

The Pentagon and the National Nuclear Security Administration, which is responsible for the maintenance and reliability of the arsenal, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

The United States produced its last nuclear weapon, based on 1970s technology, in 1990 and halted underground nuclear testing in 1992. Since then it has relied on computer simulation for testing and has refurbished older weapons to extend their life.

But concern about security and reliability has prompted the NNSA and the Pentagon to push for additional efforts to modernize the weapons. A plan released in June by the NNSA, which is part of the Department of Energy, calls for a new manufacturing complex to reconfigure and upgrade the arms.

MIX AND MATCH

The United States has seven warhead types. The new program would reduce the number of types and make some interchangeable on different weapons. There would be three warhead types for long-range missiles and two for bombs and cruise missiles.

"NNSA's plan violates the spirit if not the letter of the administration's pledge to not develop new nuclear weapons. It sends the wrong message to the rest of the world," said Philip Coyle, a researcher at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation who co-authored the report.

Lisbeth Gronlund, a co-director of UCS's Global Security Program who worked on the report, said in an interview that modernization efforts by NNSA could undermine confidence in the reliability of the arsenal.

Weapons in the U.S. arsenal have elements for a primary and secondary explosion. Under the new approach, Gronlund said, some primary and secondary elements would be mixed and matched, even though they may not have been physically tested together.

"People could well raise this as a concern and suggest we need to resume testing," she said. "So I don't see any reason to go down that road."

Gronlund said the idea behind moving to a smaller number of interchangeable warheads was that it would make it easier to reduce the size of the nuclear "hedge," the non-deployed warheads that are held in reserve.

The United States is thought to have as many as 2,650 non-deployed warheads, plus about 3,000 waiting to be dismantled, according to The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

"The claim is that this (modernization) would allow them to eventually reduce the hedge," Gronlund said, but that would only be done after 25 years, which she described as "a little lame."

With the United States already cutting deployed warheads under New START, it is a "very realistic assumption" that Washington would reduce the number of non-deployed weapons over the next 25 years as well, she said.

(Editing by Xavier Briand)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-nuclear-arms-modernization-plan-misguided-scientists-group-001519636.html
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In Theaters This Weekend: Reviews of '12 Years a Slave,' 'The Fifth Estate' and More

Steve McQueen's biopic 12 Years a Slave, which has received high praise from film critics, hits theaters on Friday.

The historical drama stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup, a free black man from New York who was kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery. Ejiofor is joined by a star-studded cast including Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch and Brad Pitt. The Fox Searchlight Film first debuted at the Telluride Film Festival in August where the cast and crew received a standing ovation.

Read what The Hollywood Reporter's film critics have to say about all the films opening this weekend and find out how they are expected to perform at the box office.

PHOTOS: Benedict Cumberbatch: Exclusive Portraits of 'The Fifth Estate's' Leading Man 

12 Years a Slave

Steve McQueen's slave drama stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Benedict Cumberbatch. Read Todd McCarthy's review here.

The Fifth Estate

Bill Condon's look at WikiLeaks centers on the falling-out between Julian Assange and a key ally. Read John DeFore's review here.

Carrie

Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore star in Kimberly Peirce's remake of the 1976 horror classic, based on the novel by Stephen King. Read David Rooney's review here.

Escape Plan

Aging action heroes Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger take the screen together in this pulpy retro-actioner from director Mikael Hafstrom. Read Todd McCarthy's review here.

PHOTOS: '12 Years a Slave': Exclusive Portraits of Star-Producer Brad Pitt and His Cast 

Kill Your Darlings

Daniel Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan head the ensemble in this jazzy exploration of the birth of the Beat Generation via a violent footnote. Read David Rooney's review here.

All Is Lost

Robert Redford leads a rugged survival-at-sea story from the Margin Call director. Read Todd McCarthy's review here.

Haunter

Vincenzo Natali offers the ghost's side of the story in a sober, supernatural take on Groundhog Day. Read John DeFore's review here.

I'm in Love With a Church Girl

A former drug kingpin romances a religious woman in this faith-based drama. Read Frank Scheck's review here.

VIDEO: 'Carrie'-Inspired Coffee Shop Prank Goes Viral

American Promise

This special jury prize-winning documentary follows two African American boys, who start out at New York's Dalton School, over 13 years. Read Duane Byrge's review here.

Big Ass Spider!

A King Kong-sized spider terrorizes downtown L.A. in Mike Mendez's fun cheapie. Read John DeFore's review here.

2 Jacks

Danny Huston and his nephew Jack star in this modern-day adaptation of Tolstoy's short story The Two Hussars. Read Frank Scheck's review here.

The Human Scale

Adreas M. Dalsgaard's doc looks at efforts to make cities pedestrian-friendly. Read John DeFore's review here.

STORY: Daniel Radcliffe on Why First-Time Directors Beat 'Somebody Who's Done 10 Films and Couldn't Give a Shit' 

The Snitch Cartel

Colombia's foreign language Oscar entry is lively but doesn’t offer nearly enough fresh variations on the Scarface formula. Read Stephen Farber's review here.

Torn

Jeremiah Birnbaum's drama explores the unlikely friendship between two mothers after their sons are killed in a shopping mall explosion. Read Frank Scheck's review here.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/film/~3/aVSPhDg60ko/story01.htm
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LAX airport blasts suspect pleads not guilty

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A baggage handler accused of setting off dry ice bottle blasts at Los Angeles International Airport pleaded not guilty Thursday to two charges of possessing a destructive device in a public place.

Dicarlo Bennett, 28, an employee of an airport service company, could face up to six years in prison if convicted.

Bennett said little beyond acknowledging his name during a brief hearing before Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz.

Police said he set off the blasts Sunday for his own amusement in areas of the airport accessible only to employees.

He was ordered held on $1 million bail. Another hearing to review his bail was set for Oct. 23.

Investigators believe the bombs were set "out of a desire to construct and experience a device exploding," said Los Angeles police Lt. John Karle. He called it foolish and negligent behavior.

Police primarily relied on interviews with witnesses and physical evidence but also reviewed surveillance video before arresting Bennett.

Airport officials changed their policy on how dry ice is discarded after an abandoned container of dry ice from a plane was used to fashion and explode the bombs.

The airport will now require employees to return dry ice — often used to keep food fresh — to a warehouse and not leave it out on the tarmac, said Los Angeles Airport Police Chief Patrick Gannon.

Airport officials plan to meet with law enforcement authorities in the coming days to examine other potential security enhancements at one of the nation's busiest airports.

Cameras cover some of these restricted-access areas, but Downing said there isn't as much camera coverage as in public-access areas.

The union representing police at LAX said the incident highlights the need for the installation of more security cameras at the airport.

___

AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch and AP writer Raquel Maria Dillon contributed to this report.

___

Tami Abdollah can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/latams

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lax-airport-blasts-suspect-pleads-not-guilty-222720863.html
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Instagram Becomes Concerned for Lady Gaga's Well Being

Setting off a few scares this week on Instagram, Lady Gaga tweeted about a strange message sent to her from the Instagram community on Wednesday (October 16). She wrote, “OMG at this email INSTAGRAM just sent me… what the actual hell. hahahaha.”

She also posted a screenshot of a message she’d received from the social media platform, which read: “Members of the Instagram community have raised concerns for your well-being after seeing posts you’ve shared. We’re reaching out to provide you with some important safety information.”

The singer superstar gave no details about which of her Instagram posts threw up the red flags, but her most recent pictures, from October 13th and 14th, are of notebooks filled with song lyrics.

Stay linked to GossipCenter for more updates about the status of Lady Gaga’s health, music, personal life, and much more!

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/lady-gaga/instagram-becomes-concerned-lady-gagas-well-being-944292
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What The World's Newspapers Are Saying

Oded Balilty/AP

A newsstand in Rome.

Oded Balilty/AP

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican led the website of Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.

At the end of their 25-minute meeting, the pope gave Abbas a pen, which the Palestinian Authority president said he hoped to use "to sign the peace agreement with Israel."

The pope replied: "Hurry, hurry," according to the newspaper.

—

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan recently called for a national dialogue in his ethnically and religiously divided country.

He announced the formation of a committee that would hold discussions on resolving differences in Nigeria. But, as the Vanguard newspaper reports, Nigerian lawmakers say that the committee's final outcome must first pass through them to become law.

Here's how Reuters describes Nigeria's religious makeup:

"Nigeria's nearly 170 million people and 250 ethnic groups, split roughly evenly between Islam, which dominates in the north, and Christianity, prevalent in the south, mostly live side by side in peace. But the country suffers bouts of bloodshed over land where the two religions meet in the middle.

"The oil producing Niger Delta is a haven for criminal gangs who steal oil and kidnap, while the Boko Haram insurgency has killed thousands and destablised swathes of the north."

—

La Tercera reports on Chile's efforts to win a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council.

The General Assembly elects five new countries to the council on Thursday. Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia are looking for spots. All are virtually guaranteed a place on the 15-member council because none of the races are contested.

This would be Chile's fifth time on the council. The previous occasion was in 2003 and 2004. That was when Chile refused to support the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Chile's term would last from January 2014 to December 2015.

—

From the Philippines, a story of hope amid the earthquake that killed more than 100 people. The Inquirer reports:

"Two statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary stand — without any blemish — amid the ruins of two churches in Maribojoc and Loon towns following Tuesday's devastating earthquake. It was enough for residents to raise their hopes that life will get better."

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/10/17/236139792/what-the-worlds-newspapers-are-saying?ft=1&f=1009
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Seratis targets doctor's pagers with health app

When Divya Dhar became a doctor four years ago, she received a somewhat archaic handout from her hospital: a pager.

Despite the revolution smartphones have brought to other fields, many hospitals still issue pagers to staff because of their reliability, the hassle of changing to a new system and patient privacy laws.

Dhar thought it could be done better, so she set about developing a smartphone app that seeks to keep doctors, social workers and other hospital staff in constant touch and up-to-date with the patient's care. The result is Seratis.

Through its graphical interface, Seratis gives health care workers an instant look at who has responsibility for the patient at any given time, details about tests and results, current problems caregivers need to be aware of, and a log of previous communications about the patient.

In a demonstration at the Demo 2013 conference in Santa Clara, California, Dhar showed how she could check up on a (fictional) patient, see the latest messages from ward staff about his illness and order tests.

Seratis is compliant with HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), which mandates standards for patient data confidentiality, and is in small-scale tests in three hospitals, she said.

There's an analytics aspect that enables doctors to track their response time and compare it to colleagues and industry averages. By pooling patient data, it could also provide notification of trends within a facility, such as an unusually high number of infections.

(Demo is produced by International Data Group, the parent company of IDG News Service.)

Martyn Williams covers mobile telecoms, Silicon Valley and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Martyn on Twitter at @martyn_williams. Martyn's e-mail address is martyn_williams@idg.com

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Martyn Williams covers mobile telecoms, Silicon Valley and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service.
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Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2055621/seratis-targets-doctors-pagers-with-health-app.html#tk.rss_all
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What Happened When Piers Morgan Asked Bill O'Reilly to Appear on CNN

Bill O'Reilly didn't give Piers Morgan the time of day -- until he had to. 

That, at least, was the story told by the CNN host when he appeared on Howard Stern's SiriusXM show on Wednesday morning.

Morgan recounted that when he first joined the cable news network, he approached the Fox News personality to appear on his talk show. The O'Reilly Factor host apparently didn't show a flicker of recognition for Morgan and quickly declined the offer.

STORY: Piers Morgan Talks Gun Control and Jeff Zucker 

"I've just joined CNN, you may have seen the promos? Nothing," Morgan remembered of the incident, later adding: "What a dick."

But then Morgan said that shortly after the conversation, O'Reilly approached him. The Fox News host asked if his daughter and her friend could take a picture with him because she was a fan of America's Got Talent, which the CNN personality previously hosted.

O'Reilly was "simmering with volcanic lava" at the time, Morgan said. 

The CNN host appeared on Stern's radio program during the press tour for his new book, Shooting Straight. 

In his book, Morgan notes that he similarly invited News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch to appear on his show. He was told there would be a "zero in a hundred" chance of that happening. 

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/live_feed/~3/_-spqWrp2So/story01.htm
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How to sell and get the most money for your old iPad before upgrading to an iPad 5 or iPad mini 2

Everything you need to know in order to get the best possible price for your old iPad before upgrading to an iPad 5 or iPad mini 2

If you plan on upgrading to an iPad 5 or iPad mini 2, selling your old iPad is a no brainer. Apple products hold their resale value very well. If you've taken good care of your iPad, you should have no problem finding it a new home and putting some cash in your pocket while doing it. Selling the old really does help you afford the new. If you're not sure how to sell, or if you just want to make sure you get the most money, or save yourself the most time and effort, possible, here's everything you need to know!

Quick guide

There's a ton of information provided below, and a lot of details for first time sellers. If you're a pro and just want to make sure you're not missing anything, here's a quick set of bullet points you'll want to pay attention to:

• Wipe all data from your old device before you sell it. Seriously, nothing is worse than giving someone your personal information. Here's how.
• Take great photos. People judge books by their covers. Clean it up so it looks like new and then take photos to prove it.
• Include all the parts. The more you can include from the original box, the better! Again, perception matters.
• Decide what's more important, money or time: If you want fast and easy, use a service like Gazelle. If you want maximum money no matter what, sell it yourself on Craigslist.

Again, we have tons of details below, so if you're uncertain about any aspect, keep reading!

How to prepare your iPad for sale

Before you actually sell your iPad, there are some steps you need to take before placing ads or making any commitments to sell it. These steps aren't only to help you get a higher price tag, they're to make sure your data and personal information is protected too.

Wipe your iPad and protect your data

Before you sell your old iPad to get a new one, you need to make sure all your stuff is off of it. You don't want to give the next owner access to all your old pictures, messages, accounts, and other private information, of course.

• How to wipe all user data on iOS 7

Clean up your iPad and take great pictures

iPads, just like iPhones, hold their value rather well as long as you take care of them. If you've taken excellent care of your iPad you can probably get more for it than someone else who is trying to sell a beat up iPad that looks like it has been taken through the ringer.

So clean it up and make sure you remove any surface dirt and get as much gunk or lint out of the corners, crevices, and ports as you can. It doesn't matter how great your iPad works. If it looks like crap, you won't get the best price.

The key to making a quick sale is to make sure you're honest and open about the condition of your iPad. To make sure you are representing your product, take high quality pictures of the actual iPad and avoid stock images at all costs. Many buyers will skip over listings that have stock images in them and only buy from sellers that include pictures of the actual iPad they're in possession of. If there are any minor scratches or nicks, photograph those too. Buyers like honest sellers and it helps build trust.

Include accessories and original cables

If you've got the original cables and accessories that came with your iPad, that's a great selling point. If you have the original box it came in, that's even better. For an even quicker sale, you can include some accessories or cases you've purchased for it over time. Odds are the new iPad 5 will have a different form factor meaning the cases you currently have won't fit. We aren't sure about the iPad mini 2 yet but if you don't mind offering a little extra incentive for buyers, it never hurts.

How to put your iPad up for sale, and which service(s) to use

Now that you've got all the information collected about your iPad and what accessories you want to include in the sale, it's time to actually list it sell it. There are many places online that you can utilize as well as listing sites that allow you to meet up with buyers locally. We'll cover the ones we recommend and you can decide which one is best for you personally.

We'll go over some options first that'll get you cash or credit quickly and then we'll take a look at services like Craigslist and eBay that may fetch you more money but will require a little more patience and maybe some haggling on your part.

Apple Reuse and Recycling Program

Apple has their own in-store trade-in program for that makes it easy to walk in and trade in your current iPad for credit towards a new one. As of this writing, Apple is currently offering $231 in gift card form for a 16GB iPad 4 in good condition with all cables and no damage. It's really not a bad offer and if you want cash quick without the hassle, it's certainly convenient.

Amazon Trade-In Store

Amazon, like Apple, will buy back your old iPad as well through the Amazon Trade-In Store. The only hitch here is that you'll be given payment in the form of an Amazon gift card. If you're looking for hard cash to put towards a new iPad on launch day and you don't want to wait for Amazon to have it in stock, it may not be the best option.

If you're okay with Amazon credit though, it's a pretty painless process. You'll choose the model, capacity, and color of your current iPad and add it to your trade-in. You'll then be given a shipping label and instructions. Once Amazon receives your old iPad, they'll issue you an Amazon gift card for the trade-in value. Amazon is currently offering a range of around $200 all the way up to over $350 depending on your iPad model and capacity.

Gazelle

Gazelle offers a service that lets you easily turn most electronic devices into cash. Simply send in your iPad and Gazelle will send you money after confirming the item condition. The first thing you'll need to do is tell Gazelle what you're selling and what condition the item is in. You can choose from poor, fair, good or excellent condition, and it's important to be honest when rating the condition so there's no hiccups or snags along the way. It also helps if you have the box and original documentation and cables with your item. Also make sure you check for any water damage, as Gazelle will too once they receive your iPad.

Currently, a 16GB WiFi only iPad 4 in normal flawless condition will fetch you around $275. Again, always be honest about the condition. While Gazelle is a quick way to get money for your old iPad, you can probably get quite a bit more on services like Craigslist and eBay if you can afford to be more patient with the actual selling process.

SellYourMac.com

SellYourMac.com offers a similar service to Gazelle by letting you send in your old iPad for payment with little to no hassle involved.

You'll be required to provide pictures along with a serial number next to your item description and condition. Once SellYourMac.com receives your iPad they'll clean it, inspect it, and verify that it's in working condition before they turn around and sell it on eBay. Users can receive payment via Paypal if they choose as well. SellYourMac's quotes are a little higher than other competing services such as Gazelle. A 16GB WiFi only iPad 4 in perfect condition with the box is currently going for $255 on SellYourMac.

buymyi

mendmyi has just launched a new service in the UK called buymyi that's the first of it's kind when it comes to buying used iPhones and iPads. While most others only let you choose whether the device is in good condition, broken, or liquid damaged, buymyi will actually price out and buy your used iPad regardless of the issues. It functions by letting you pick out a fault (or multiple faults) and adding them. Since at it's core, mendmyi is a repair company, it will use their repair cost in order to adjust the value of your device given current rates.

It's a great option for iPad owners that have issues selling an imperfect device for a fair price elsewhere. As of today, buymyi is offering £250 for a 16GB good condition WiFi only iPad 4. They will send out payment within 24 hours of receiving the device and they let you choose between Paypal, bank transfer, or check. The service is currently only available to UK residents but may expand to other countries in the near future. Currently buymyi is offering some of the best prices we've seen and if you're located in the UK, we'd highly recommend quoting your iPad with them.

eBay

Selling your iPad on eBay is a pretty simple process. If you've ever used eBay for selling things in the past then you know the selling process isn't all that tricky, however there are still some things to keep in mind when using eBay to sell your iPad. For instance, eBay charges fees for each auction based on the item you're selling and how much it sells for, among other things, so here are five quick tips to help you get the most out of your auction:

1. Only ship to the buyer's confirmed Paypal address if using Paypal.
2. Price competitively, especially if you're using Buy It Now as an option.
3. Make sure the pictures you use follow your description and are good quality - post pictures of any physical blemishes on the iPad and be up-front in your description.
4. Use a fast shipping service and make sure you include that in your item description. People are impatient by nature so sellers that offer fast shipping tend to sell items quicker.
5. Use keywords in your title and in your item description to attract more potential buyers.
6. You may also want to consider insuring your item in case anything goes wrong during shipping. Watch out for low-feedback buyers and also keep in mind that Paypal charges processing fees as well.

Craigslist

Craigslist allows you to list items for sale in your area so you can perform the transaction locally and face-to-face. This is a quick way to get some cash for your iPad on the spot and also an easy way to let the buyer check out the device in person before committing to the purchase. As long as you were honest about the condition and specifications, you should have no issue in completing a painless transaction with a buyer. And you walk away with cash in your hand on the spot.

1. Don't ever put your personal or home address in an ad. Ever!
2. Price your iPad competitively. A good way to do this is to find existing ads on Craigslist in your area for iPads that are the same model, capacity, and condition as yours and price accordingly. If your iPad shows up next to someone else's and yours is grossly overpriced, it won't sell.
3. Some buyers prefer being able to text or call you immediately about an item and it may increase the likelihood of a quick sale. Having a phone number that they can reach you at is ideal. Only do this if you're comfortable with putting your phone number on the internet. This is a good time to use a Google Voice number or other forwarding number if you have one.
4. Meet in a public place, preferably in the daytime. A coffee place like Starbucks is a good idea. It's also never a bad idea to bring a friend or relative with you. While most buyers are perfectly friendly, there are shady people out there. If the person doesn't want to meet in a public place, pass on them and wait for someone who doesn't have an issue with that.
5. Watch out for email scams, something Craigslist is notorious for. Anyone offering to pay you a great deal more than the list price or who asks you to ship the item to a foreign country is a scammer. Delete their e-mails and correspondence immediately and wait for a legitimate buyer to come along.

Sell your iPad to a friend or family member

Even you aren't willing to part with your old iPad for free it doesn't mean friends or family members aren't interested in buying it from you. Perhaps they don't have an iPad and don't care about having the newest model available. Using this method you ensure that your old iPad finds a good home and you know the buyer isn't a scam artist.

Ask around and offer a reasonable price and you may be surprised how many of your friends or family members could be willing to snag your old iPad. Throwing in accessories such as cases can help sweeten the deal as well.

Get more help selling your old iPad

Whether you just aren't sure which method to use, need advice on what condition you should list your iPad as, or what you should price it at, we're here to help. You can leave any questions you have about selling your old iPad in the comments below or better yet, in our iMore forums where lots of our members have years of experience selling and trading gadgets of all kinds.

One of our members may even be interested in taking your old iPad off your hands so be sure to check out our Marketplace forum as well!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/o2U4tT99_KQ/story01.htm
Category: detroit tigers   fox news   pirate bay   Angel Dust   true blood  

EBay holiday quarter outlook disappoints on U.S. weakness

By Phil Wahba

(Reuters) - EBay Inc on Wednesday gave a disappointing holiday forecast, blaming a weaker U.S. macroeconomic environment, sending shares down 4.5 percent in after-hours trading.

The e-commerce company reported a higher third-quarter profit on Wednesday as consumers made greater use of its PayPal service.

But the company said the macroeconomic environment in the United States was weaker, leading it to give a cautious outlook for the current quarter, which includes the crucial holiday season. EBay said the environment in Europe and Asia was mostly stable.

"U.S. e-commerce softened considerably and we have a cautious outlook for the holiday season," Chief Financial Officer Bob Swan told investors on a conference call.

Data firm ShopperTrak has forecast the slowest holiday sales growth since 2009, and last week, September retail sales showed U.S. shoppers were cautious, following a disappointing second quarter for many retailers.

EBay expects revenue of between $4.5 billion and $4.6 billion for the current quarter, ending December 31, compared with the $4.64 billion estimated by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"You could certainly point to consumer confidence that took a beating," said Colin Gillis, a technology analyst with BGC Partners.

U.S. consumer confidence slid last month to its lowest since May, according to a report released in late September by the Conference Board, an industry group.

EBay lagged behind rival Amazon.com Inc for several years, but Chief Executive John Donahoe has led a turnaround in recent years that focuses on mobile shoppers, international expansion and tie-ups with local physical stores.

Net income for the third quarter was $689 million, or 53 cents a share, up from $597 million, or 45 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding the benefit of its sales of stakes in e-commerce companies RueLaLa and ShopRunner, eBay earned 64 cents, one cent better then expected.

For the holiday quarter, eBay expects a profit of 79 cents to 81 cents a share, while Wall Street analysts estimate 83 cents. Revenue rose 14.3 percent to $3.89 billion.

PayPal, eBay's online payments division, reported that total payments volume rose 24.7 percent to $43.8 billion.

EBay said that gross merchandise volume, or the dollar value of merchandise sold on its marketplaces, rose 12.7 percent to $18.4 billion in the United States, excluding auto sales.

This summer, eBay expanded its eBay Now same-day delivery service into new markets and last month bought payments gateway Braintree for about $800 million to strengthen PayPal's presence on mobile devices.

To compete with Amazon's Prime service, PayPal is offering for a limited time free two-day shipping for items paid for with that service.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba in New York; Esditing by Steve Orlofsky)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ebay-profit-rises-outlook-disappoints-203159348--sector.html
Tags: Malala Yousafzai   sports illustrated   Wentworth Miller   tibetan mastiff   The White Queen  

Kourtney Kardashian Kicks It With Mickey & Minnie Mouse!

There’s one Kardashian that knows how to partayy and it’s Kourtney!

The eldest Kardashian shared with the world a photo of her hanging out with Mickey & Minnie Mouse on Saturday without Mason and Penelope?!

We wonder how Mason felt when he saw that picture!!

Hm, or could the snap be an indication of what Kourt and Scott are going to dress up as this Halloween?

She did post an Instagram photo from last Halloween with this caption:

"Last year…BatGirl and Robin. What should we be for Halloween this year?"

Source: http://perezhilton.com/2013-10-15-kourtney-kardashian-scott-disck-mickey-mouse-minnie-mouse-cute-instagram-pictures-halloween
Category: Robinson Cano   detroit lions   djokovic   Maria Mitchell   kate middleton  

Linux Gaming Is Cleared for Takeoff

"Linux has been around for so long that you wonder what Valve are thinking, but it does serve their interest in that this is a FOSS OS that can be picked up by any OEM," suggested Lewis Ward, a research manager at IDC. "What Valve is doing could have the potential not to work but, from my experience, they're very careful about how they go about doing what they do."

Close to a third of all websites use Linux, according to W3Techs, and Linux system users are arguably second only to Mac users in their devotion to their platform of choice, yet Linux gamers have traditionally been the red-headed stepchildren of the gaming community.

Xbox 360 was the top-selling console for the 32nd straight month in August, NPD's video games sales figures indicate, while Nintendo's 3DS led hardware platform sales for the fourth month in a row.

"Linux on the desktop always has had a very small share compared to Windows, so most developers, and especially big companies, didn't care much for it," sighed Maxim Bardin, who founded Linux Gaming News.

'More and More Titles Are Coming'

"There is also the misconception that it's hard to develop for Linux, but such claims are usually made by non-Linux developers," Bardin told LinuxInsider. "In recent years, demand for Linux games has grown rapidly and -- with the help of the extremely popular game engine Unity, which makes it easy to port games to Linux -- more and more titles are coming to Linux."

Indeed they are, not least because Linux gaming was recently given perhaps the biggest boost yet when Valve announced plans to ship prototypes of its own, Linux-based game box, the Steam Machine.

Later this year, Valve will release 300 Steam boxes to beta users and seek their feedback. Testers can hack the boxes, install their own OSes on them or build their own boxes by purchasing their own components.

'Great for the Industry'

Hard on the heels of Valve's announcement, Nvidia promptly announced increased Linux driver support, with plans to provide documentation for the Nouveau project, which builds free drivers for its graphics cards.

"SteamOS is great for the industry, and we're very excited for Valve and for gamers," Nvidia spokesperson Brian Burke told LinuxInsider. "We're in favor of any initiative that promotes open-platform gaming and takes advantage of our market-leading Linux support."

AMD, meanwhile, released the new AMD Catalyst 13.11 Beta 1 video driver for Linux platforms. While the new release fixes some problems, it's also elicited some concern because it does not support anything later than Linux Kernel 3.10 and does not specify which build of that kernel it supports.

Be True to Your OS

In any case, it's clear that Linux gaming has survived and begun to flourish because of the devotion of the OS's fans.

There is a SteamLug Linux gaming channel at Freenode.net and there is the Linux Games database. There are several e-zines dedicated to Linux gaming, including Linux Gamecast and Linux Gaming News, and there's commercial Linux gaming site GamesOnLinux.com, which earlier this month updated its list of commercially available games for the OS.

Most of those games are, unsurprisingly, from Steam. They include PixelJunkMonsters Ultimate, Arma Tactics and Crusader Kings II.

Other games listed are KarBOOM, Mousecraft, Inverto, Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded and Tennis Elbow 2013.

GamesOnLinux.com also lists several crowdfunding projects for games including Crypt Run, Champions of Demah and Dungeon of Elements.

Several of these games run on Windows and Mac OS as well as Linux.

In fact, if developers avoid platform-specific code such as Microsoft DirectX APIs and use libraries that support all targeted OSes, making a Linux client for a game is not a problem, Bardin said. Otherwise, the porting costs might not cover the expenses.

Now, however -- with Valve's announcement of its Steam boxes -- Linux "will become more popular," Bardin predicted.

The Future of Linux Gaming

"Linux has been around for so long that you wonder what [Valve] are thinking, but it does serve their interest in that this is a FOSS OS that can be picked up by any OEM," Lewis Ward, a research manager at IDC, told LinuxInsider.

"What Valve is doing could have the potential not to work but, from my experience, they're very careful about how they go about doing what they do," Ward continued.

Valve's move is likely to encourage more emphasis on open development platforms, Jordan Cwang, managing editor and cohost of Linux Gamecast Weekly, told LinuxInsider.

There will be a "proliferation of PC manufacturers trying to get some of that sweet console cash, and more people will be making games as barriers to entry wither away," Cwang opined.

'A Library of Steam Games'

However, that does not mean console gamers will "suddenly jump ship to becoming PC gamers," contended Liam Callahan, an analyst at NPD.

"For the cross-section of gamers playing on both consoles and PCs, there could be more of a reason to defer to PC gaming with a 'box' or OS that optimizes PC gaming for the living room," Callahan told LinuxInsider.

"This would be especially true for those that have a library of Steam games just waiting to be played on their TV," he added.

The introduction of the Steam box could bring a shift in terms of the genre games that are popular on the PC, with family games that are typically reserved for consoles in the living room being played through a Steam box, Callahan suggested.

However, most PC gamers "already have a gaming rig that is capable of playing the games they want," Callahan noted. The market for Steam boxes will be PC gamers looking to buy a new PC who find Steam OS-enabled features attractive, he added -- if the price is right.

---

Richard Adhikari has written about high-tech for leading industry publications since the 1990s and wonders where it's all leading to. Will implanted RFID chips in humans be the Mark of the Beast? Will nanotech solve our coming food crisis? Does Sturgeon's Law still hold true?

Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/79193.html
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gamesGRABR Launches Equity Funding Campaign To Be 'Pinterest ...

You’ve seen “Pinterest for X” style startups before I’m sure. Well, gamesGRABR is a new style “social network for gaming” which is aiming to become a sort of ‘Pinterest you games’. But before you turn away, take a look, as this is more than just an interface, it allows the user to curate games collections, discover, engage, play and share them with other users, on any gaming platform. Today it’s launched an equity crowdfunding campaign, to raise £150,000 for startup capital.

Led by serial gaming entrepreneur Tony Pearce, the campaign aims to raise interested investors for equity in parent company TeePee Games. Funding will be supplemented by an additional £200,000 raised by Pearce and his team from existing investors. The company closed a seed funding round of £250,000 in March 2013, used to develop and launch the site as it is today.

He tells me: “I suppose Pinterest could be a competitor but no gamers would be seen dead on Pinterest. We are still the only company to focus 100% on games in a pinboard style UI with social and cross platform discovery and recommendations. Other gaming sites such as Playfire you can see what your friends are playing but just on console games.”

Since a beta launched in June it’s been gaining traction and claims to have hit 100,000 uniques, continual growth and an average of 35% returning. The platform has over 50,000 games across all platforms and new features such as platform and genre filtering, the ability to play, buy or download any game in one click plus more social integration.

It’s also interesting that they chose Crowdcube which is essentially a much quicker way to raise equity funding – assuming they make it of course.

Pearce has in the past raised over £15m in VC funding, starting 3 companies with 2 successful exits. He co-founded Player X, Europe’s largest mobile games distribution company in Europe that was acquired by Spanish mobile content company Zed in April 2009.

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/15/gamesgrabr-launches-equity-funding-campaign-to-be-pinterest-for-games/
Category: BART strike   national coffee day   michael beasley  

Coldplay to Receive Honor for 'Hunger Games' Song at Hollywood Film Awards (Exclusive)

For their hit song "Atlas" on the soundtrack to the film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the multi-platinum and multiple Grammy-winning band Coldplay -- composed of Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Will Champion and Jonny Buckland -- will receive this year's Hollywood Song Award at the 17th annual Hollywood Film Awards, the first awards show of the 2013 season, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Martin will accept on behalf of the group and perform the song at the gala ceremony on Oct. 21 at the Beverly Hilton.

PHOTOS: 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Cast Heats Up Cannes

The song, which was released in September, reached No. 1 on iTunes in 43 different countries. The entire soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will be released by Lionsgate and Republic Records on Nov. 19, 2013, and the film will open worldwide on Nov. 22, 2013.

The Hollywood Film Awards are determined by founder and executive director Carlos de Abreu and an advisory committee. De Abreu tells THR, "The Hollywood Film Awards is thrilled to present the Hollywood Song Award to a band as globally respected and prolific as Coldplay. They continue to build their legacy and, with ‘Atlas’ marking the first time they have recorded for a motion picture, we cannot think of an artist better deserving of this honor.”

VIDEO: Coldplay Unveils 'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Song, 'Atlas'

Other 2013 honorees who have already been announced include 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen and supporting actress Lupita Nyong'o; 42's supporting actor Harrison Ford; August: Osage County's ensemble and supporting actress Julia Roberts; Before Midnight's lead actress/co-screenwriter Julie Delpy, lead actor/co-screenwriter Ethan Hawke and co-screenwriter/director Richard Linklater; Behind the Candelabra producer Jerry Weintraub; The Book Thief's lead actress Sophie Nelisse; Captain Phillips producer Michael De Luca; Dallas Buyers Club's lead actor Matthew McConaughey and supporting actor Jared Leto; Gravity's lead actress Sandra Bullock; Fruitvale Station's lead actor Michael B. Jordan; Lee Daniels' The Butler director Lee Daniels and supporting actor David Oyelowo; Monsters University director Dan Scanlon and producer Kori Rae; Pacific Rim visual effects supervisor John Knoll; and Prisoners' supporting actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

Over the past 10 years, Hollywood Film Awards honorees went on to garner a total of 96 Oscar nominations and 34 Oscars. (Full disclosure: Dick Clark Productions, which shares the same parent company as THR, has an undisclosed investment in the Hollywood Film Awards.)

Twitter: @ScottFeinberg

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/film/~3/K096HTC6ick/story01.htm
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How a worm became a swim model

Public release date: 14-Oct-2013
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Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi
jbardi@aip.org
240-535-4954
American Institute of Physics

Better understanding of the movements of C. elegans worm will make a big difference in biomedical research

WASHINGTON, D.C. Oct. 11, 2013 -- One might wonder why researchers would even care about the nuances of the one-millimeter long nematode worm, let alone take the time to study them. But the answer is simple: they can provide powerful insights into human health and disease.

New research performed at Texas Tech University and published in the journal Physics of Fluids demonstrates just that. By studying how this tiny worm swims, the researchers hope to provide insights into applications from drug screening to setting the stage for designing smart soft robots.

Why the Worm?

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has long been an important organism in biology and medicine labs. It was at the center of three Nobel Prize winning investigations, and biologists routinely use this worm for studies that range from genetics, to behavior and neurobiology, to disease pathogenesis. Its genome was one of the first to be fully mapped, and at least 50% of its genes are similar to those found in humans. In addition, though its nervous system is nowhere near as complex as the human's, a complete map of its 302 neurons with 7,000 connections is known. Since a library of mutants where genes are knocked out is also available, C. elegans has become a powerful model for screening drugs, including ones for neurological diseases like Parkinson's.

The basic idea behind drug screening is to expose different worms to different drugs and see what happens. Since swimming is one of the worm's main observable behaviors, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the nematode's motion in various mechanical environments is very important for developing a sensitive screen to test drug compounds that affect nerve cells or muscles and may, for example, help alleviate symptoms for people with incurable diseases.

A precise model of the nematode's swimming patterns will lead to better drug screening and will also enable reverse engineering of the worm's neural system, explained Jerzy Blawzdziewicz, one of the authors of the new study.

"The worm executes a finite set of body shapes," he said. "We have described these gaits mathematically, and now we have combined the gait models with accurate models of the flow generated by the nematode body during swimming. This unique approach has led us to determine the dependence of swimming velocity on the form of the gait and allowed us to model the turning maneuvers of the worm." The next step is to develop locomotion models that combine the reported hydrodynamic analysis with a new description of neuromuscular control of the nematode body.

Blawzdziewicz and his collaborator Siva Vanapalli are enthusiastic about the prospects. "Our future quantitative studies of nematode navigation through complex environments will benefit analyses of the behavioral response of nematodes exposed to compounds affecting neurons or muscles in drug screening assays. Moreover, we anticipate that our studies may find applications in engineering of smart, millimeter-scale soft robots."

###

The article, "Nematode Locomotion in Unconfined and Confined Fluids" by Alejandro Bilbao, Eligiusz Wajnryb, Siva Vanapalli, and Jerzy Blawzdziewicz appears in the journal Physics of Fluids. See: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4816718

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Physics of Fluids is devoted to the publication of original theoretical, computational, and experimental contributions to the dynamics of gases, liquids, and complex or multiphase fluids. See: http://pof.aip.org

---

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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.

Public release date: 14-Oct-2013
[


| E-mail



| Share

]

Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi
jbardi@aip.org
240-535-4954
American Institute of Physics

Better understanding of the movements of C. elegans worm will make a big difference in biomedical research

WASHINGTON, D.C. Oct. 11, 2013 -- One might wonder why researchers would even care about the nuances of the one-millimeter long nematode worm, let alone take the time to study them. But the answer is simple: they can provide powerful insights into human health and disease.

New research performed at Texas Tech University and published in the journal Physics of Fluids demonstrates just that. By studying how this tiny worm swims, the researchers hope to provide insights into applications from drug screening to setting the stage for designing smart soft robots.

Why the Worm?

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has long been an important organism in biology and medicine labs. It was at the center of three Nobel Prize winning investigations, and biologists routinely use this worm for studies that range from genetics, to behavior and neurobiology, to disease pathogenesis. Its genome was one of the first to be fully mapped, and at least 50% of its genes are similar to those found in humans. In addition, though its nervous system is nowhere near as complex as the human's, a complete map of its 302 neurons with 7,000 connections is known. Since a library of mutants where genes are knocked out is also available, C. elegans has become a powerful model for screening drugs, including ones for neurological diseases like Parkinson's.

The basic idea behind drug screening is to expose different worms to different drugs and see what happens. Since swimming is one of the worm's main observable behaviors, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the nematode's motion in various mechanical environments is very important for developing a sensitive screen to test drug compounds that affect nerve cells or muscles and may, for example, help alleviate symptoms for people with incurable diseases.

A precise model of the nematode's swimming patterns will lead to better drug screening and will also enable reverse engineering of the worm's neural system, explained Jerzy Blawzdziewicz, one of the authors of the new study.

"The worm executes a finite set of body shapes," he said. "We have described these gaits mathematically, and now we have combined the gait models with accurate models of the flow generated by the nematode body during swimming. This unique approach has led us to determine the dependence of swimming velocity on the form of the gait and allowed us to model the turning maneuvers of the worm." The next step is to develop locomotion models that combine the reported hydrodynamic analysis with a new description of neuromuscular control of the nematode body.

Blawzdziewicz and his collaborator Siva Vanapalli are enthusiastic about the prospects. "Our future quantitative studies of nematode navigation through complex environments will benefit analyses of the behavioral response of nematodes exposed to compounds affecting neurons or muscles in drug screening assays. Moreover, we anticipate that our studies may find applications in engineering of smart, millimeter-scale soft robots."

###

The article, "Nematode Locomotion in Unconfined and Confined Fluids" by Alejandro Bilbao, Eligiusz Wajnryb, Siva Vanapalli, and Jerzy Blawzdziewicz appears in the journal Physics of Fluids. See: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4816718

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Physics of Fluids is devoted to the publication of original theoretical, computational, and experimental contributions to the dynamics of gases, liquids, and complex or multiphase fluids. See: http://pof.aip.org

---

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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/2013-10/aiop-haw101413.php
Tags: washington post   sofia vergara   Xbox One Release Date   Kendrick Lamar diss   Behati Prinsloo