Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Port Orchard, WA 2006 LINCOLN Navigator Used SUV Bremerton, WA Gig Harbor, WA Bruce Titus Port Orchard Ford for $16,988

  • Champagne
  • DEA09180B
  • 5.4L V8
  • 5LMFU28536LJ28596
  • Automatic 6-Speed
  • 76,346 mi.
  • 4WD SUV (4 Door)

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Payment $268.07

$16,988

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$16,988

10.0 %

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100 %

8.0 %

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12 %

72

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Contact Us at (866) 996-6867

*The advertised price does not include sales tax, vehicle registration fees, finance charges, negotiable $150 documentation charges, and any other fees required by law. We attempt to update this inventory on a regular basis. However, there can be lag time between the sale of a vehicle and the update of the inventory.

EPA mileage estimates are for newly manufactured vehicles only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.

Before purchasing this vehicle, it is your responsibility to address any and all differences between information on this website and the actual vehicle specifications and/or any warranties offered prior to the sale of this vehicle. Vehicle data on this website is compiled from publicly available sources believed by the publisher to be reliable. Vehicle data is subject to change without notice. The publisher assumes no responsibility for errors and/or omissions in this data the compilation of this data and makes no representations express or implied to any actual or prospective purchaser of the vehicle as to the condition of the vehicle, vehicle specifications, ownership, vehicle history, equipment/accessories, price or warranties.

Source: http://www.tacomasubaru.com/2006-LINCOLN-Navigator-Port-Orchard-WA/vd/13452674

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Rick Nolan calls for campaign-finance constitutional amendment ...

Rep. Rick Nolan

Rep. Rick Nolan

Source: http://www.minnpost.com/dc-dispatches/2013/02/rick-nolan-calls-campaign-finance-constitutional-amendment

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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

NBA offers free app for tracking this weekend?s All-Star events

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Good news NBA fans. We are now less than a week away from the three day showcase for basketball?s top players known as All-Star Weekend.?The annual 3-day affair features several events, including the Slam Dunk contest and of course the All-Star game itself.

And thanks to The League, you?ll be able to follow along with all of the action right on your iPhone or iPad. The NBA is offering a free iOS app,?NBA All-Star 2013, that will let you grab news, stats, photos and video highlights of all of this weekend?s?festivities?

From the App Store?s description:

?The NBA All-Star 2013 App is the ultimate guide to All-Star. Keep up to date with event information, live scores, video and photos. Vote for your favorite players to win contests during the weekend and play predictive games.?

Believe it or not, the app is actually very well done. It looks sharp, loads content quickly and is very easy to use. The UI design kind of reminds me of Google?s recent iOS app offerings, like Google+. I particularly like the way it displays news stories in a feed-like stream.

Of course, new content is fairly limited right now. Sure, it has videos like ?Kobe Bryant?s top 10 all-time highlights? and news updates on player injuries. But the good stuff won?t start popping up until Friday, as All-Star weekend kicks off with the Celebrity Game.

Regardless, even the casual basketball fan will enjoy having this app around this week. So unless you just flat-out don?t watch the sport, I recommend checking it out. It?s available in the App Store for both the iPhone and iPad. And the best part is, it doesn?t cost anything.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zipadblog/~3/JUCZQKxXHR8/

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Monday, February 11, 2013

Luxury Roundtable 2013 New York conference May 1: Four ...

Graff sparkles

Graff sparkles

Please click here to register for the Luxury Roundtable: State of Luxury 2013 conference in New York Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Registration is open for the Luxury Roundtable: State of Luxury 2013 conference Wednesday, May 1, 2013 featuring speakers from the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Donna Karan, Graff Diamonds, Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Michael Kors, Belstaff, The Wall Street Journal, Boston Consulting Group, Ipsos MediaCT, Social Muse Communications and Lure of Luxe. This daylong New York event is a must-attend for luxury brands, luxury retailers, ad agencies, market researchers and publishers looking to get a temperature reading on the health and prospects of the luxury business and strategies to become a stronger player.

At this exclusive summit organized by this publication at the National Museum of the American Indian across from Manhattan?s Battery Park downtown, attendees will get to listen and meet with key executives moving the needle for luxury marketing, retail and media. The conference, whose agenda is below, will be limited to only 200 delegates.

?As pointed out by BCG Consulting Insights, luxury is a $1.3 trillion industry ? the size of Australia?s GDP, the world?s 13th largest economy ? so the welfare of such a large influence in the global marketplace is key,? said Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief of Luxury Daily, New York.

?But like any other sector, luxury needs constant tending and caring for it to flourish,? he said. ?That means consistent practices across product and service quality, controlled distribution, responsive marketing, customer touch points and perception of value. Some luxury brands are holding the line, not succumbing to premium temptation, while a few have convinced themselves otherwise. Regardless, an eye on heritage, quality and customer experience is essential for long-term thriving.?

Marketing for all seasons

Marketing for all seasons

This conference will help luxury marketers establish benchmarks for best practice in brand building, marketing and retail.

Under discussion will be the role of storytelling in maintaining the brand narrative, finding best friends for diamonds, why cookie cutters do not work for luxury property marketing, brand evangelism?s role in this noise-fused economy, the state of the luxury business and what motivates today?s luxury customer. Key luxury trends, issues and opportunities will also be aired.

Attendees will get access to all presentations made at the event.

Central perk of marketing

Central perk of marketing

The event is priced at $595 for the day, which includes breakfast, lunch and cocktails. Refunds will not be given 72 hours before the event or for no-shows on the day of the conference.

For sponsorship, please contact ads@napean.com for prompt attention.

Luxury Roundtable: State of Luxury 2013 is part of this publication?s exclusive summit series.

The summit agenda can also be accessed via http://www.luxuryroundtable.com.

Please click here to register for the Luxury Roundtable: State of Luxury 2013 conference in New York Wednesday, May 1, 2013

The agenda is below.

AGENDA

Luxury Roundtable: State of Luxury 2013
Wednesday, May 1, 2013

A Napean presentation

Venue
National Museum of the American Indian
Diker Pavilion
Bowling Green
New York, NY 10004
(Directions: Directly across from Battery Park in downtown Manhattan and at the beginning of Broadway)

8 a.m. ? 8:45 a.m.
Registration and Breakfast

8:45 a.m. ? 9 a.m.
Welcome Address: Managing Luxury Expectations in a Discerning World
Speaker:
Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief, Luxury Daily

9 a.m. ? 9:45 a.m.
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts: How Storytelling is the New Defining Luxury Experience
Today?s luxury customers are as much into physical goods as they are into flawless experiences whose memories last a lifetime. Indeed, the largest spend category in luxury is travel and hotels, estimated annually at about $355 billion. The Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts brand understands well the motivations of the luxury guest, from the aspiring luxury traveler to the worldly jetsetter. The global slowdown in 2009, however, refocused the hospitality industry to move brand dollars to digital media, especially social where consumers wanted to be part of the brand story. As Four Seasons has discovered, storytelling and engaging content is now key to getting more heads in beds. In this session, attendees will learn:

??What today?s luxury customer expects from experiences
??The state of the luxury hospitality industry
??Marketing that works for Four Seasons hotels and resorts worldwide
??How Four Seasons became a storyteller and a custom publisher of content
??Tips for how luxury brands that sell experiences can translate them into digital for consumer engagement

Speaker:
Elizabeth Pizzinato, senior vice president of marketing and communications, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

9:45 a.m. ? 10 a.m.
Break

10 a.m. ? 10:45 a.m.
Graff Diamonds: Marketing High Jewelry to Today?s Consumer
British high jeweler Graff Diamonds knows a thing or two about elegance and style: some of the world?s best diamonds have passed through its hands. In addition to diamonds, the marketer sources and polishes gems such as emeralds and rubies, encasing them in rings, earrings, necklaces and watches that sparkle with life and dazzle eyes that behold. Holding quality standards and stoking demand in a competitive world is not easy, but Graff presses ahead with creativity within its stores, online and via its catalogs and magazine. This session will discuss:

??The state of the luxury jewelry market
??Marketing jewelry to today?s consumer
??The role of stores, catalogs and magazines in the jewelry business
??The store on the 103rd floor
??Why print advertising works
??The Graff story

Speaker:
Courtney Smith, vice president of marketing, advertising and communications, Graff Diamonds

10:45 a.m. ? 11 a.m.
Break

11 a.m. ? 11:45 a.m.
Boston Consulting Group: State of the Luxury Business 2013 and Beyond
Evolving consumer behavior requires luxury brands and retailers to adapt, even more so in a global economy where growth lies in emerging markets but the developed countries cannot be ignored. Some key trends are already obvious, such as an emerging middle class trading up and a growing reliance on China to fuel a luxury brand?s growth. Still, the recipes of the past will not work. In this session, attendees will learn:

??How consumer behavior is changing to include experiences, moving from a mindset of ?to have? to ?to be? with older demographics and millennials
??The role of geography in driving growth: how an emerging middle class in the BRIC countries plus South Africa is eyeing and buying luxury goods and services
??Why the United States should not be ignored
??How new business models are emerging in luxury as the relationship between consumers and brands changes
??How digital is changing the rules of the game for ecommerce, retail and marketing

Speaker:
Jean-Marc Bellaiche, senior partner and managing director, Boston Consulting Group

11:45 a.m. ? Noon
Break

Noon ? 12:45 p.m.

12:45 p.m. ? 2 p.m.
Sponsored Lunch Break

2 p.m. ? 2:45 p.m.
Douglas Elliman Real Estate: The Art and Science of Luxury Property Marketing
The nation?s fourth largest real estate company with 3,800 agents in more than 65 offices has spent 102 years servicing its clients? desire for a dream home ? great view, large bathrooms, pet-friendly, access to the water and, yes, the right neighbors. New York and Florida are its key markets, with clients flocking from all over the world. Elliman is a soup-to-nuts real estate firm, offering services spanning sales and rental, retail and commercial, new development marketing, property management and title insurance. Yet the traditional real estate industry is rapidly transitioning, especially as consumers seek more information and experiences from their brokerage firms. In this session, attendees will learn:

??The new face of luxury property marketing
??What today?s luxury buyer expects from the interaction with the real estate company
??Why a cookie-cutter approach does not work: high-end properties are all unique
??How the real estate business has become so visual with videos and content-rich with magazines rivaling leading shelter titles
??The heightened role of artistic open-house events, public relations, advertising, customized marketing and content in wooing the luxury buyer or renter

Speaker:
Camilla Papale, chief marketing officer, Douglas Elliman Real Estate

2:45 p.m. ? 3 p.m.
Break

3 p.m. ? 3:45 p.m.
Research
Ipsos MediaCT: Understanding Luxury Consumers and Their Decision-Making Process
Getting a handle on the luxury consumer is not easy. Old stereotypes do not apply anymore, as younger consumers are eager to sample luxury goods and services, while the older group seeks out more experiences as rewards for a lifetime of putting shoulder to the wheel. What better source to synthesize luxury brand and consumer data than the acclaimed 36th Annual Mendelsohn Affluent Survey as well as the much-cited Mendelsohn Affluent Barometer tracking survey? This session will address questions such as:

??Who is today?s luxury consumer? Building a profile of today?s luxury targets by exploring the best predictors of luxury interest and purchase
??How can brands best reach these luxury consumers? Exploring the role of digital and traditional media throughout the luxury funnel
??How do luxury dynamics change across categories? A brief look at luxury in categories such as apparel, travel, automotive and mobile devices
??How are luxury purchase decisions made? Exploring brand considerations such as quality, design and value, as well as today?s multichannel shopping process including showrooming
??What does the future hold for luxury? Exploring the outlook for 2013 luxury spending with the latest tracking results from Ipsos? luxury interest indices

Speaker:
Stephen Kraus, senior vice president and chief insights officer of Ipsos MediaCT?s audience measurement group, and coauthor of ?The New Elite: Inside the Minds of the Truly Wealthy??

3:45 p.m. ? 4 p.m.
Break

4 p.m. ? 4:45 p.m.
Donna Karan: Brand Evangelism?s Role to Widen the Luxury Customer Base
As one of the trendiest luxury womenswear apparel and lifestyle brands, Donna Karan New York is known for deploying the latest communication tools to keep its customer base engaged year-round. Its use of social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, whosay.com and Tumblr are nothing short of democratic in its approach, pushing a lifestyle that is stylish yet classic and so New York. Given the state of the global economy, Donna Karan is doubling down on its branding efforts to maintain ties with not only existing customers but also those who may enter the brand at a later stage. In this session, attendees will learn:

??Why brand evangelism should trump a singular focus on ROI for luxury marketers
??Embracing social media to meet luxury consumers wherever they are
??Donna Karan?s approach to brand evangelism
??The increasingly critical role of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, whosay.com, Tumblr, Pinterest, Weibo and blogs in shaping the luxury brand?s perception
??Why the mediums are the luxury message

Speaker:
Aliza Licht, senior vice president of global communications, Donna Karan International

4:45 p.m. ? 5 p.m.
Break

5 p.m. ? 5:45 p.m.
Panel
Why It?s Not Just the 1 Percent Anymore and Other Luxury Trends, Challenges and Opportunities
It is well documented how marketers and retailers of luxury goods and services mostly thrived in the recent economic slowdown while their main street counterparts struggled to hold on to market share. But demographic changes and evolving tastes are forcing luxury marketers to look anew at their marketing and retail practices. Consumers, even the affluent ones, want a say in the brand?s story, thanks to new technology and media. Resistance is futile, as the Borg said. This closing session will feature the full weight and wisdom of its panelists, opining on key luxury issues including:

??Stepping into Choos: Will Gen X and Gen Y transition smoothly into the new generators of demand?
??All over the map: Headwinds in China, Japan not back to form, and the prospects of BRICS
??Old money, old turf: Sustaining customer relationships in Europe and the United States
??Experiences: The new luxury good?
??A little more conversation: Online, mobile, social and in constant dialogue ? the new face of marketing?
??Turning the page? Not print advertising
??What?s in store: bricks and clicks
??Counterfeiting: falling trees in the forest
??Big is beautiful? So think LVMH, PPR, Richemont, Swatch Group and Labelux
??Mystique, not mistake: turning brand into product

Panelists:
Nina Lawrence, vice president of global marketing for ad sales, The Wall Street Journal
Damian Mould, chief marketing officer, Belstaff
Farryn Weiner, director of social media, Michael Kors
Jordan Phillips, founder and director, Lure of Luxe
Christine Kirk, founder/CEO, Social Muse Communications

Moderator:
Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief, Luxury Daily

5:45 p.m.
Raffle for Dom Perignon

5:45 p.m. ? 6:45 p.m.
Sponsored Cocktail Hour

Please click here to register for the Luxury Roundtable: State of Luxury 2013 conference in New York Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Hotels in the Lower Manhattan neighborhood (from nearest to farthest):

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel New York City ? Financial District, 8 Stone Street, New York, NY 10004; tel: 212-480-9100; please click here for the Web site

The Ritz-Carlton Battery Park, Two West Street, New York, NY 10004; tel: 212-344-0800; please click here for the Web site

New York Marriott Downtown, 85 West Street at Albany Street, New York, NY 10006; tel: 212-385-4900; please click here for the Web site

W New York Downtown, 123 Washington Street (entrance on Albany Street), New York, NY 10006; tel: 646-826-8600; please click here for the Web site

Millennium Hilton, 55 Church Street, New York, NY 10007; tel: 212-693-2001; please click here for the Web site

Please click here to register for the Luxury Roundtable: State of Luxury 2013 conference in New York Wednesday, May 1, 2013



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Tags: BCG, Belstaff, Donna Karan, Douglas Elliman, Four Seasons, Graff diamonds, Ipsos MediaCT, luxury, luxury marketing, Luxury Roundtable: State of Luxury 2013, Michael Kors, Wall Street Journal

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The seven creepiest teachers who allegedly banged or inappropriately touched students this week [SLIDESHOW]

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 10 (Reuters) - A hamstring injury has ruled Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike out of Sunday's African Nations Cup final, denying him a chance to finish as the tournament's outright leading scorer. But Victor Moses, who had been doubtful for the match, will play for Nigeria against Burkina Faso at Soccer City. Emenike suffered a hamstring injury in Nigeria's 4-1 semi-final win over Mali after he had scored his fourth goal of the tournament giving him the same number as Ghana striker Mubarak Wakaso, who played his last game on Saturday. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/seven-creepiest-teachers-allegedly-banged-inappropriately-touched-students-075317515.html

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Alone, together: Snowed in, in the age of hashtags

A woman checks her mobile phone outside Lincoln Center, home of New York's Fashion Week shows, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. In New York City, the snow total in Central Park was 8.1 inches by 3 a.m. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A woman checks her mobile phone outside Lincoln Center, home of New York's Fashion Week shows, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. In New York City, the snow total in Central Park was 8.1 inches by 3 a.m. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

HAMDEN, Conn. (AP) ? The East Coast woke up under a blanket of snow this weekend and collectively documented the experience on the myriad social and mobile inventions of the past decade. Facebook, Twitter and other technologies make it increasingly difficult to stay isolated ? even if you're stuck home alone.

"The funny thing is that I actually checked my Instagram feed before I even looked out my own window," says Eric Witz, who lives in Medford, Mass.

On Saturday, Witz posted a photo of his car stuck under a "6-foot-high snow drift."

"I always have my phone on me. So checking these things is something I do instinctively when I wake up," he says. "That probably makes me a sad social media clich?, but it's the truth."

As Northeasterners posted photo after photo of kids sledding in Central Park and suburbanites conquering Mt. Snowmore with their shovels, West Coast wags teased with tweets of sunshine and snapshots of palm trees.

Call it what you will: The Hashtag Snowstorm, the latest Snowpocalypse or Snowtorious B.I.G. The weekend whiteout was a lifetime away from the blizzard of 1978, a world not just without social media but one devoid of endless Weather Channel warnings and the lifeline of mobile phones.

Even the past two years have upended the way we receive information. We've moved from merely posting a status update with words to sharing photos and videos taken on smartphones, and we can't let go.

Kathy Tracy was in junior high school when that famous snowstorm hit West Haven, Conn., 35 years ago, leaving as much as 27 inches of snow on the Northeast. She still lives there today, and some things haven't changed. Snow is still snow, and people still wait for the streets to be cleared, hoping there is enough food and toilet paper to get by.

"The roads were so bad that my father and I took a sled and walked two miles to the grocery store," Tracy says.

Getting updates of the '78 blizzard meant turning on the radio or watching evening news programs. This weekend, Tracy says she turned to Twitter and nonstop news coverage to stay informed. She also follows a meteorologist on Facebook and receives updates from CNN, The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets.

While Tracy talked with a reporter on the telephone on Sunday, she was still waiting for plow trucks to clear the 3 feet of snow the storm heaped on her neighborhood. But the information at the tips of her fingers made being stuck at home somewhat more tolerable.

"I guess what's better is that you are not sitting here waiting for the 6 o'clock news, waiting to find out what's going on," she says.

Still, no matter what century you live in, there are few cures for cabin fever.

"You still have to deal with waiting for the plow," Tracy says.

As people across the Northeast awaited plow trucks, looked for flights to resume or simply tried to kill time as the storm passed, they plucked away on their smartphones and tablet computers to document just about every inch of the snowfall. On Facebook, mentions of the word "snow" jumped 15-fold from earlier in the week, the company says, though it did not give specific numbers. On Sunday, one of the most-used terms in status updates was "no school tomorrow" as students rejoiced and parents shared updates and even grieved.

By Sunday afternoon, people on Instagram used the hashtag "Nemo" (the Weather Channel's unofficial name for the storm) 583,641 times in describing their photos, according to Venueseen, a company that helps businesses track marketing campaigns on Instagram. The Facebook-owned photo-sharing site is where Witz posted a photo that his sister sent him from Hamden, Conn., one of the hardest-hit areas with 40 inches of snow.

"I like Instagram because it gives you a more personal, immediate sense of peoples' experiences in real time," he says. "I'm one of the weird few people who actually enjoy seeing what people in the world are eating and drinking."

It's easy to be nostalgic about how much things have changed since the blizzard of '78 when it comes to the speed of information and how it's consumed. But the changes continue.

"What really struck me this time around, and with (Superstorm) Sandy too, is not so much that people were sharing information, but that they were sharing photos and video," says Steve Jones, a professor who studies online culture and communications at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "You get a different perspective than you could from just words."

Indeed, says Ranvir Gujral, the co-founder of Chute, a San Francisco startup that helps companies put user-generated content on their websites and mobile apps, "we are in the midst of a visual revolution."

Chute worked with NBC to launch Stormgrams, a site where people can share Instagram photos of the storm using a common hashtag, a way of marking posts to make them more easily searchable by topic. The photos are organized by location, laid out on a "heat map" that paints the most actively sharing states red.

Countless mobile apps encourage photo-taking, Gujral says, adding that a big reason there is so much thirst online for the endless stream of photos is because there has never been a bigger supply of it. The next task, something he's hoping to do with Chute, is creating "ways to make sense of this cacophony of imagery."

So what's lost in this endless stream of snow-updates, Instagram photos and Facebook news? Serendipity, Jones says. Running into people and sharing a moment, offline, while events are unfolding.

And challenges remain. Drivers got stuck in the snow in the storm of '78, they did in the storm of 2013 and will likely continue to for storms to come.

"One thing we haven't overcome is what you do if you don't have electricity or if you are stranded in a car without a cellphone signal," Jones says.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-11-Snowstorm-Technology/id-88d0de7d933f4551ace3e14c98b7f433

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Sunday, February 10, 2013

New genes for short-sightedness identified

New genes for short-sightedness identified [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 10-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Katherine Barnes
katherine.barnes@kcl.ac.uk
44-207-848-3076
King's College London

An international team of scientists led by Kings College London has discovered 24 new genes that cause refractive errors and myopia (short-sightedness)

An international team of scientists led by King's College London has discovered 24 new genes that cause refractive errors and myopia (short-sightedness).

Myopia is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment worldwide, and currently there is no cure. These findings, published today in the journal Nature Genetics, reveal genetic causes of the trait, which could lead to finding better treatments or ways of preventing the condition in the future.

Thirty per cent of Western populations and up to 80 per cent of Asian people suffer from myopia. During visual development in childhood and adolescence the eye grows in length, but in myopes it grows too long, and light entering the eye is then focused in front of the retina rather than on it. This results in a blurred image. This refractive error can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or surgery. However, the eye remains longer, the retina is thinner, and this may lead to retinal detachment, glaucoma or macular degeneration, especially with higher degrees of myopia. Myopia is highly heritable, although up to now, little was known about the genetic background.

To find the genes responsible, researchers from Europe, Asia, Australia and the United States collaborated as the Consortium for Refraction and Myopia (CREAM). They analysed genetic and refractive error data of over 45,000 people from 32 different studies, and found 24 new genes for this trait, and confirmed two previously reported genes. Interestingly, the genes did not show significant differences between the European and Asian groups, despite the higher prevelance among Asian people. The new genes include those which function in brain and eye tissue signalling, the structure of the eye, and eye development. The genes lead to a high risk of myopia and carriers of the high-risk genes had a tenfold increased risk.

It was already known that environmental factors, such as reading, lack of outdoor exposure, and a higher level of education can increase the risk of myopia. The condition is more common in people living in urban areas. An unfavourable combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors appears to be particularly risky for development of myopia. How these environmental factors affect the newly identified genes and cause myopia remains intriguing, and will be further investigated by the consortium.

Professor Chris Hammond from the Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology at King's College London, and lead author of the paper, said: 'We already knew that myopia or short-sightedness tends to run in families, but until now we knew little about the genetic causes. This study reveals for the first time a group of new genes that are associated with myopia and that carriers of some of these genes have a 10-fold increased risk of developing the condition.

'Currently myopia is corrected with glasses or contact lenses, but now we understand more about the genetic triggers for the condition we can begin to explore other ways to correct it or prevent progression. It is an extremely exciting step forward which could potentially lead to better treatments or prevention in the future for millions around the world.'

Currently, possibilities to reduce progression of myopia are very limited. While one drug, called atropine, may reduce progression, it dilates the pupil and causes problems with light sensitivity and difficulty with reading. New options are necessary. Chances are good that the insights gained from this study will provide openings for development of new strategies.

###

NOTES TO EDITORS

Genome-wide meta-analyses of multiancestry cohorts identify multiple new susceptibility loci for refractive error and myopia
Nature Genetics
Advance Online Publication DOI: 10.1038/ng.2554

A copy of the paper is available on request

CONTACT

Katherine Barnes
International PR Manager
King's College London
Tel: +44 207 848 3076
Email: katherine.barnes@kcl.ac.uk

About King's College London

King's College London is one of the top 30 universities in the world (2011/12 QS World University Rankings), and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has more than 25,000 students (of whom more than 10,000 are graduate students) from nearly 140 countries, and some 6,500 employees. King's is in the second phase of a 1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.

King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly 450 million.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.


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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.


New genes for short-sightedness identified [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 10-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Katherine Barnes
katherine.barnes@kcl.ac.uk
44-207-848-3076
King's College London

An international team of scientists led by Kings College London has discovered 24 new genes that cause refractive errors and myopia (short-sightedness)

An international team of scientists led by King's College London has discovered 24 new genes that cause refractive errors and myopia (short-sightedness).

Myopia is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment worldwide, and currently there is no cure. These findings, published today in the journal Nature Genetics, reveal genetic causes of the trait, which could lead to finding better treatments or ways of preventing the condition in the future.

Thirty per cent of Western populations and up to 80 per cent of Asian people suffer from myopia. During visual development in childhood and adolescence the eye grows in length, but in myopes it grows too long, and light entering the eye is then focused in front of the retina rather than on it. This results in a blurred image. This refractive error can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or surgery. However, the eye remains longer, the retina is thinner, and this may lead to retinal detachment, glaucoma or macular degeneration, especially with higher degrees of myopia. Myopia is highly heritable, although up to now, little was known about the genetic background.

To find the genes responsible, researchers from Europe, Asia, Australia and the United States collaborated as the Consortium for Refraction and Myopia (CREAM). They analysed genetic and refractive error data of over 45,000 people from 32 different studies, and found 24 new genes for this trait, and confirmed two previously reported genes. Interestingly, the genes did not show significant differences between the European and Asian groups, despite the higher prevelance among Asian people. The new genes include those which function in brain and eye tissue signalling, the structure of the eye, and eye development. The genes lead to a high risk of myopia and carriers of the high-risk genes had a tenfold increased risk.

It was already known that environmental factors, such as reading, lack of outdoor exposure, and a higher level of education can increase the risk of myopia. The condition is more common in people living in urban areas. An unfavourable combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors appears to be particularly risky for development of myopia. How these environmental factors affect the newly identified genes and cause myopia remains intriguing, and will be further investigated by the consortium.

Professor Chris Hammond from the Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology at King's College London, and lead author of the paper, said: 'We already knew that myopia or short-sightedness tends to run in families, but until now we knew little about the genetic causes. This study reveals for the first time a group of new genes that are associated with myopia and that carriers of some of these genes have a 10-fold increased risk of developing the condition.

'Currently myopia is corrected with glasses or contact lenses, but now we understand more about the genetic triggers for the condition we can begin to explore other ways to correct it or prevent progression. It is an extremely exciting step forward which could potentially lead to better treatments or prevention in the future for millions around the world.'

Currently, possibilities to reduce progression of myopia are very limited. While one drug, called atropine, may reduce progression, it dilates the pupil and causes problems with light sensitivity and difficulty with reading. New options are necessary. Chances are good that the insights gained from this study will provide openings for development of new strategies.

###

NOTES TO EDITORS

Genome-wide meta-analyses of multiancestry cohorts identify multiple new susceptibility loci for refractive error and myopia
Nature Genetics
Advance Online Publication DOI: 10.1038/ng.2554

A copy of the paper is available on request

CONTACT

Katherine Barnes
International PR Manager
King's College London
Tel: +44 207 848 3076
Email: katherine.barnes@kcl.ac.uk

About King's College London

King's College London is one of the top 30 universities in the world (2011/12 QS World University Rankings), and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has more than 25,000 students (of whom more than 10,000 are graduate students) from nearly 140 countries, and some 6,500 employees. King's is in the second phase of a 1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.

King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly 450 million.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.


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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/kcl-ngf020713.php

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Millions of Hindus bathe in Ganges to cleanse sins

AAA??Feb. 10, 2013?5:41 AM ET
Millions of Hindus bathe in Ganges to cleanse sins
By BISWAJEET BANERJEEBy BISWAJEET BANERJEE, Associated Press?THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES?

A "Naga" sadhu or Hindu naked holy man takes a dip at "Sangam," the confluence of Hindu holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh festival at Allahabad, India, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. Millions of devout Hindus and thousands of Hindu holy men are expected to take a dip at Sangam on Sunday, the most auspicious day according to the alignment of stars, for the entire duration of Maha Kumbh festival, which lasts for 55 days. (AP Photo/ Saurabh Das)

A "Naga" sadhu or Hindu naked holy man takes a dip at "Sangam," the confluence of Hindu holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh festival at Allahabad, India, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. Millions of devout Hindus and thousands of Hindu holy men are expected to take a dip at Sangam on Sunday, the most auspicious day according to the alignment of stars, for the entire duration of Maha Kumbh festival, which lasts for 55 days. (AP Photo/ Saurabh Das)

"Naga" sadhus or Hindu naked holy men from the Niranjani "Akhada" or sect, take out a procession to take a ritual dip at "Sangam," the confluence of Hindu holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh festival at Allahabad, India, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. Millions of devout Hindus and thousands of Hindu holy men are expected to take a dip at Sangam on Sunday, the most auspicious day according to the alignment of stars, for the entire duration of Maha Kumbh festival, which lasts for 55 days. (AP Photo/ Saurabh Das)

Hindu devotees walk across pontoon bridges to take a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati River, during the Maha Kumbh festival, in Allahabad, India , Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. Millions of devout Hindus and thousands of Hindu holy men are expected to take a dip at Sangam on Sunday, the most auspicious day according to the alignment of stars, for the entire duration of Maha Kumbh festival, which lasts for 55 days. (AP Photo /Manish Swarup)

"Naga" sadhus or Hindu naked holy men shouts slogan before taking a holy dip at "Sangam," the confluence of Hindu holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh festival at Allahabad, India, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. Millions of devout Hindus and thousands of Hindu holy men are expected to take a dip at Sangam on Sunday, the most auspicious day according to the alignment of stars, for the entire duration of Maha Kumbh festival, which lasts for 55 days. . (AP Photo /Manish Swarup)

Indian holy men shout slogans and take a holy dip at "Sangam," the confluence of Hindu holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh festival at Allahabad, India, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. Millions of devout Hindus and thousands of Hindu holy men are expected to take a dip at Sangam on Sunday, the most auspicious day according to the alignment of stars, for the entire duration of Maha Kumbh festival, which lasts for 55 days. . (AP Photo /Rajesh Kumar Singh)

(AP) ? Led by heads of monasteries arriving on chariots and ash-smeared naked ascetics, millions of devout Hindus plunged into the frigid waters of the holy Ganges River in India on Sunday in a ritual that they believe will wash away their sins.

Sunday was the third of six auspicious bathing days during the Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, which lasts 55 days and is one of the world's largest religious gatherings.

By the end of the day, as many as 30 million devotees were expected to have taken a dip at the Sangam, the confluence of three rivers ? the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, at the edge of Allahabad in northern India.

The auspicious bathing days are decided by the alignment of stars, and devout Hindus believe a dip in the sacred river on one of these days will wash away their sins and free them from the cycle of death and rebirth.

The first to bathe Sunday were the heads of different Hindu monasteries who reached the bathing areas, called ghats, accompanied by marching bands. Some arrived on silver chariots and others were carried on palanquins by their followers.

They were followed by the Naga sadhus ? ascetics with ash rubbed all over their bodies, wearing only marigold garlands.

Over the years, modernity has begun to mingle with the centuries-old tradition of the Kumbh Mela, with many of the ascetics and religious heads flaunting expensive laptop computers and photography equipment.

Hundreds of sadhus wandered along the bathing areas carrying small video cameras and smartphones.

"We are using this modern technology to keep ourselves updated. This will also help us in propagating our religion better," said Maharaj Nirupanand, an ascetic in his early 40s. "Not everyone can come to Kumbh. We can send these pictures to them so that they can feel the enormity of this occasion."

According to Hindu mythology, the Kumbh Mela celebrates the victory of gods over demons in a furious battle over nectar that would give them immortality. As one of the gods fled with a pitcher of the nectar across the skies, it spilled on four Indian towns ? Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.

The Kumbh Mela is held four times every 12 years in those towns. Hindus believe that sins accumulated in past and current lives require them to continue the cycle of death and rebirth until they are cleansed. If they bathe at the Ganges on the most auspicious day of the festival, believers say they can rid themselves of their sins.

Associated Press
People, Places and Companies: India

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-10-AS-India-Festival/id-0f40f452d57246d2b38022c11da53afb

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Rupert Grint & 'The Necessary Death Of Charlie Countryman': 'Harry Potter' Actor's Next Role

Rupert Grint The Necessary Death Of Charlie Countr

Rupert Grint stars in "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman."

BERLIN -- Harry Potter star Rupert Grint says he enjoyed a change of scene from the young wizard's adventures when he starred alongside Shia LaBeouf in "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman," one of the competitors at this year's Berlin film festival.

Grint plays a drug-addled traveler in the movie, set in Bucharest, which screened at the festival Saturday. One of 19 competing for the event's Golden Bear award, it centers on an improbable romance between an American traveler played by LaBeouf and a troubled Romanian musician, played by Evan Rachel Wood.

Grint played Harry's faithful friend Ron in the Potter films.

He told reporters: "After playing the same character for 11 years, it's nice to do something completely different." He added: "The character was someone who's completely the opposite of Ron."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/09/rupert-grint-the-necessary-death-of-charlie-countryman_n_2653159.html

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Saturday, February 9, 2013

The Blizzard of 2013 -- aka the Great Raid on Dunkin? Donuts -- in Connecticut

Yahoo! News is gathering brief first-person accounts, photos and video from the severe winter weather in the northeastern United States. Here's one resident's story.

FIRST PERSON | TORRINGTON, Conn. -- I took the day off Friday, as the predicted historic snowstorm approached in Connecticut. I decided to venture out this morning for some breakfast while the roads were still passable. My wife asked me to pick up some donuts while I was out, so I proceeded to the local grocery store where there is a Dunkin Donuts.

To my dismay there wasn't a donut left on the shelf.

I figured I had to go to the main store where I was sure there would be some since it was only 10 a.m.

As I pulled up to the main Dunkin Donuts store, I could see through the window that it was going to be slim pickings.

Nothing. Dunkin Donuts does not have donuts!

I asked the girl behind the counter why a donut shop doesn't have donuts at 10 a.m. She told me that people were coming in and buying dozens of donuts at a time. Dozens of donuts? Is this some kind of an emergency staple I don't know about?

Not wanting to disappoint my wife, I continued the search for donuts. After a few more treks to some other branches, I finally found a Dunkin Donuts at a garage that had donuts on its shelf. Voila! I grabbed my donuts and a couple of breakfast sandwiches and made a bee-line for home, knowing I may have found the only Dunkin Donuts in town that has donuts left.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blizzard-2013-aka-great-raid-dunkin-donuts-connecticut-180400995.html

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Doctors turn to 'Jeopardy' computer to beat cancer

(Reuters) - IBM's Watson supercomputer has beaten expert "Jeopardy" quiz show contestants, and its predecessor defeated a world chess champion. Now, doctors hope it can help them outsmart cancer.

Oncologists at two medical groups have started to test IBM's Watson's supercomputer system in an effort to improve speed and efficacy of treatments, the company said on Friday.

The Maine Center for Cancer Medicine and Westmed Medical Group will begin testing an application based on Watson's cognitive computing to help diagnose lung cancer and recommend treatment, IBM said.

"Access to comprehensive care can be difficult in rural areas such as southern Maine," said Tracey Weisberg, medical oncology president at Maine Center for Cancer Medicine and Blood Disorders.

"This allows the most comprehensive evidence based treatment we could have only dreamed of in the past," she added.

Watson is an artificial intelligence super computer system named after legendary International Business Machines President Thomas Watson.

Thanks to its computing power Watson can sift through 1.5 million patient records and histories to provide treatment options in a matter of seconds based on previous treatment outcomes and patient histories.

It has been fed with more than 600,000 pieces of medical evidence, 2 million pages of text from 42 medical journals and clinical trials in the area of oncology research, IBM said.

In addition, IBM partnered with clinicians and technology experts from health insurer WellPoint and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who spent thousands of hours to teach Watson how to process, analyze and interpret the meaning of complex clinical information, IBM said.

"Every doctor knows they cannot keep up with hundreds of new articles but every physician wants to be right and this is a way of facilitating that," said Samuel Nussbaum, chief medical officer at WellPoint.

IBM first showcased Watson's powers almost two years ago.

The computer beat two human competitors on the popular U.S. quiz show "Jeopardy!" highlighting the progress people have made in making machines able to think like them.

IBM has since further advanced Watson's linguistic and analytical abilities to develop new products such as medical diagnosis.

(Reporting By Nicola Leske; Editing by David Gregorio)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/doctors-seek-help-cancer-treatment-ibm-supercomputer-210625777--finance.html

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Property prices on the rise in Laos | Property Report | The trusted ...

Property prices in Vientiane grew by 10 to 15 percent in 2012.

Property prices rose by up to 15 percent in Laos last year as a result of foreign investment and growing confidence in the economy, reported the Bangkok Post.

Land prices in Vientiane rose by 10 to 15 percent on average, and by up to 50 percent along the Mekong River bank according to Houmphan Sayalath, managing director of Laos based real estate agent, RentsBuy.com.

The Mekong River bank is one of Vientiane?s prime areas, where land is currently being sold for US$3,000 per sqm, up from US$2,000 per sqm in 2011.

?There are a number of mega land development projects underway in Vientiane and this is making people feel more confident that the price of land will continue to increase,? Houmphan said.

Last year the government gave Chinese development firms the go-ahead to develop several mega-projects in Laos. The government also supported a wetland development project by a Vietnamese property firm, according to Houmphan.

The government also permitted overseas investors to channel over US$500,000 into Laos to purchase 800 sqm of residential and office land.

Laos experienced one of the highest economic growth rates in 2012, reported the Bangkok Post. According to the Asia Development Bank, growth was estimated to be around 8 percent.

Despite recent economic growth, the United Nations still ranks Laos as one of the world?s poorest countries.

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Filed Under: Asia (General) ? News ? News by Country

Tags: foreign investment ? Laos ? Laos economy ? Laos property market ? Vientiane ? Vientiane property development ? Vientiane property market

Source: http://www.property-report.com/property-prices-on-the-rise-in-laos-28001

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Video: Leno locks lips with Go Daddy geek



>>> last night on the tonight show , jay leno decided to recreate the magic of the commerce with the supermodel, more than happy to oblige.

>> i'm thinking, any chance we could recreate the ad?

>> sure. pucker up.

>> looks like leno didn't get the steamy moment he was hoping for.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50730192/

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U students rally behind budget request (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/283452842?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Friday, February 8, 2013

Tesla Model S review

DNP Tesla Model S review

As we cover the mobile industry, where the evolution of devices and processors is relentless, we're used to being impressed. We're used to seeing a new generation of a product that instantly and irrevocably makes the previous one look tame. It's just the way this world turns. However, that's not something we're used to seeing in the automotive world, where each new model year is typically such a minor step forward that without the addition of new creases or wings to the body, bigger wheels and more boisterous badges on the trunk, you'd hardly spot the improvements.

That's not the case with the Tesla Model S. It comes not long after the retirement of the Tesla Roadster, a car we thoroughly enjoyed but found a bit too raw, a bit too rough around the edges for general consumption. The Model S is so much more refined, so much more polished that you can hardly compare the two. Yet they come from the same company and have one similar, defining characteristic: neither burns a drop of fuel. Join us after the break for an exploration of what makes Tesla's latest EV such an amazing ride -- and where the company must improve if it truly wants to compete with the BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes of the world.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/DXE0t0pz1pU/

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Thursday, February 7, 2013

Twitter Redesigns Its Search Experience For iOS, Android And Mobile Web To Help You Find Relevant Tweets And People

560079597_12b29c3a6a_zTwitter has announced a much-needed update to its search product today and it will be available on all mobile devices: iOS, Android and mobile web. The company boasts that the update will help you find relevant tweets, trends and people to follow in a single stream. This is very similar to the experience that we’re starting to see make its way to the website. Among the most interesting changes is that you can now search from anywhere in the app, instead of having to tap over to discover. You’ll see this button for the iOS version. Up until now, “Interactions” has been an option for reviewing the connected tab, which shows you all of your replies, that is now the default. All of these changes are to engage people more on Twitter, whether they’re heavy sharers or not. In the past, the company has said that you don’t have to tweet to use Twitter. That’s partially true, but if people find things that interest them, they’ll engage a little bit more. Whether it’s a reply or an idea of something to say themselves during an event like the Super Bowl, discovery is something that Twitter needs to incrementally get better at to make it a full social network. Twitter says it wants each tab to have a “single stream of content,” which is of course easier to read. These changes do the trick. Here’s a full rundown of what has changed: Discover: Now all the content in Discover ? Tweets, Activity, Trends and suggestions of accounts to follow ? appears in a single stream, on both iPhone and Android. You can also dive into Activity and Trends from new previews at the top of the Discover tab. Search: Search results now surface the most relevant mix of Tweets, photos, and accounts, all in one stream (similar to the stream in Discover). We?ve also added a new search button to Twitter for iPhone, letting you search from anywhere within the app. (This button was already available in the Android and iPad apps.) Look for the magnifying glass icon next to the button you use to compose a Tweet. Connect: To provide a simpler experience in the Connect tab, the default view is now Interactions, which shows you new followers, retweets and mentions. If you prefer to view only your mentions in Connect, you can adjust the default in settings ? find

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/TogLZXnIaok/

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Widespread high-tech doping blights Australian sport

Aussie rules need a rethink. Scientists and clinicians are in the crosshairs of Australia's top crime fighters as the sports-mad country tries to confront widespread doping.

After a year-long investigation, the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) has just released a 44-page report summarising its findings. It notes that entire teams have been doping with the assistance of top sports scientists and doctors. No teams, support staff or individual sports have been publicly singled out yet, although the CEOs of several major sports governing bodies have promised to cooperate with the relevant agencies.

"This is the blackest day in Australian sport," Richard Ings, the former head of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), told ABC television.

The ACC report warns that "as professional sports become increasingly complex and reliant on sports scientists and other individuals with specialist skill sets, these individuals will pose a threat to the integrity of professional sport in Australia".

It notes that with the ever-increasing focus on sports science, "remaining competitive at the elite level is now dependent on access to the best sports scientists and use of the latest technology". As a result, it says, sports scientists have gained increasing influence in sporting clubs, and are "pushing legal and regulatory boundaries in relation to sport supplementation programs and medical treatments given to players".

Widespread drug use

The report says there is widespread use of a number of drugs including growth hormone releasing hexapeptide (GHRP), across the major codes. It says Google searches for GHRP are more common in Australia than in the US or UK.

The report also outlines the use of "a range of substances that have [from] limited to no history of use in humans", including Actovegin, which is an extract of calf blood thought to increase muscle absorption of glucose and oxygen. It notes these substances are not prohibited, and that their impact on the health of players is unknown.

Sports economist Ross Booth told New Scientist that the role of sports science in team sports has grown partly because many sports governing bodies impose caps on the amount clubs can pay players. "Some teams have a lot more revenue than others but they can't buy the players," he says. "Where a team or sport gets the edge is spending on sport science."

With that emphasis, the risk of cheating goes up. "You push the boundaries, as close as you can get, and sometimes people go over them either accidentally or deliberately."

He says some people have suggested putting a cap on spending on sports science, but that will be difficult. "Down that path you get to a completely centralised thing where each club has the same funding. There would be resistance to that."

Acknowledging that the fight against doping has become more about intelligence and police work than about testing, the government has introduced a bill into parliament that will give the state-run ASADA police-like powers, with the ability to compel suspects to cooperate.

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