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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Teen Science Wiz Goes from Homeless to White House to New Home [Science]
Politicians, union hail RBS CEO's bonus refusal
This photo of Aug. 24 2010 shows Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS, CEO Stephen Hester in Glasgow, Scotland. Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester will not be accepting a 1 million pound ($1.5 million) bonus that drew criticism from British public and politicians, the bank said Sunday Jan. 29, 2012 The British government spent 45 billion pounds bailing out RBS three years ago. It still owns an 82 percent stake, and politicians had criticized the reward at a time when Britons face painful spending cuts and tax hikes. (AP Photo/Danny Lawson/PA Wire) UNITED KINGDOM OUT
This photo of Aug. 24 2010 shows Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS, CEO Stephen Hester in Glasgow, Scotland. Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester will not be accepting a 1 million pound ($1.5 million) bonus that drew criticism from British public and politicians, the bank said Sunday Jan. 29, 2012 The British government spent 45 billion pounds bailing out RBS three years ago. It still owns an 82 percent stake, and politicians had criticized the reward at a time when Britons face painful spending cuts and tax hikes. (AP Photo/Danny Lawson/PA Wire) UNITED KINGDOM OUT
People walk by the offices of RBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, in the City of London, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. RBS bank's board of directors have awarded the bank's CEO Stephen Hester 3.6 million shares for his work over the last year, worth about 963,000 pounds ($1.5 million) based on Thursday's closing share price, although 82 percent of the bank is owned by the British government after recent financial bailouts.(AP Photo/Sang Tan)
A sign of RBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, is seen at its office in the City of London, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. RBS bank's board of directors have awarded the bank's CEO Stephen Hester 3.6 million shares for his work over the last year, worth about 963,000 pounds ($1.5 million) based on Thursday's closing share price, although 82 percent of the bank is owned by the British government after recent financial bailouts.(AP Photo/Sang Tan)
LONDON (AP) ? British politicians and a union leader have welcomed the decision by the chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland to refuse his bonus for last year.
The gesture did nothing for the bank's share price, however. It was down 2.4 percent at 27 pence in early trading Monday.
The bank announced Sunday that CEO Stephen Hester would not accept a bonus of 3.6 million shares, currently worth nearly 1 million pounds (around $1.6 million).
Senior politicians had piled pressure on Hester to refuse the bonus, and RBS chairman Philip Hampton earlier announced he wasn't taking his bonus.
Unite union official David Fleming said RBS employees would be thinking: "better late than never."
Foreign Secretary William Hague said Hester's decision was "sensible and welcome."
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Gingrich says he's in till GOP convention (AP)
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. ? On the weekend before the pivotal Florida primary, Newt Gingrich vowed Saturday to stay in the race for the Republican presidential nomination until the national convention this summer even if he loses Tuesday's vote. Front-runner Mitt Romney poured on the criticism of his rival in television ads airing across the state.
Gingrich's pledge, in a race defined by unpredictability, raised the prospect of an extended struggle inside the party as Republicans work to defeat President Barack Obama in the fall. "You just had two national polls that show me ahead," he said. "Why don't you ask Gov. Romney what he will do if he loses" in Florida.
The former Massachusetts governor countered a few hours later while in Panama City. "I think we are going to win here, I sure hope so," he said.
As the two rivals made their appeals to Hispanic, Jewish and tea party voters, veterans of the armed forces and others, all known indicators pointed to a good day for Romney in the primary.
He and his allies held a 3-1 advantage in money spent on television advertising in the race's final days. Robust early vote and absentee ballot totals followed a pre-primary turnout operation by his campaign. Even the schedules the two men kept underscored the shape of the race ? moderate for Romney, heavy for Gingrich.
Campaigning like a front-runner, Romney made few references to Gingrich. Instead, he criticized Obama's plans to cut the size of the armed forces. "He's detached from reality," the former Massachusetts governor said.
"The foreign policy of `pretty please' is not working terribly well," he added. Romney said he wants to add 100,000 troops, not cut them.
If his personal rhetoric was directed Obama's way, the television commercials were trained on Gingrich, whose victory in last Saturday's South Carolina primary upended the race for the nomination. A new ad released as the weekend began is devoted to the day in 1997 when Gingrich received an ethics reprimand from the House while serving as speaker and was ordered to pay a $300,000 fine.
Nearly the entire 30-second ad consists of NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw's nationally broadcast description of the events on the evening news. "By an overwhelming vote, they found him guilty of ethics violations; they charged him a very large financial penalty, and they raised ? several of them ? raised serious questions about his future effectiveness," Brokaw said that night, and now again on televisions across Florida.
Both NBC and the former newsman registered objections. The network called on the campaign to stop using the footage and Brokaw said in a statement, "I do not want my role as a journalist compromised for political gain by any campaign."
A Romney adviser, Eric Fehrnstrom, said the campaign wasn't likely to stop running the ad. "We believe it falls within fair use," he said. "We didn't take the entire broadcast; we just took the first 30 seconds."
Whatever its impact, the ad represented part of a barrage that Gingrich could not match.
A second Romney ad said Gingrich had "cashed in" as a Washington insider while the housing crisis was hitting Florida particularly hard.
Figures made available to The Associated Press showed Romney was spending $2.8 million to air television commercials in the final week of the Florida campaign. In addition, a group supporting him, Restore Our Future, was spending $4 million more, for a combined total of $6.8 million.
By contrast, Gingrich was spending about $700,000, and Winning Our Future, a group backing him, an additional $1.5 million. That was about one-third the amount for the pro-Romney tandem.
Officials said the total of absentee and early vote cast approached 500,000, about 200,000 of them before Gingrich won in South Carolina last weekend.
Gingrich seemed in good humor during the day, despite the obstacles in his way. He joked with reporters that they had missed an example of his grandiosity ? a charge that one rival, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, had used in a recent debate ? when they didn't see him hold a golf trophy on display at the PGA Library.
Gingrich also turned aside one opportunity to criticize Romney, answering a question by saying, `I want to talk about defeating Obama."
But his tone seemed to change after he said he wasn't happy with his performances in a pair of debates during the week, and was asked to explain.
"You cannot debate somebody who is dishonest. You just can't," he said, referring to Romney.
Referring to one answer the former Massachusetts governor had given, Gingrich said it was not true that Romney had always voted for a Republican when one was on the ballot.
"That in fact he could have voted for George H.W. Bush or Pat Buchanan the same day and he chose the Democratic primary, he voted Paul Tsongas, the most liberal candidate. The same year he gave money to three Democrats for Congress," he added, referring to the 1992 campaign.
"Now there's no practical way in a civil debate to deal with somebody who is that willing to say something that is just totally dishonest."
Romney poked fun at Gingrich's debate performances.
"This last one Speaker Gingrich said he didn't do so well because the audience was so loud. The one before he said he didn't do so well because the audience was too quiet. This is like Goldilocks, you know, you've got to have it just right.
"When I debate the president, I'm not going to worry about the audience, I'm going to make sure that we take down Barack Obama and take back the White House."
The two other contenders, Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, have conceded Florida and did not campaign in the state during the day.
___
Associated Press reporter Steve Peoples in Panama City contributed to this report.
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Musharraf will return to Pakistan after tensions end: APML (Reuters)
DUBAI (Reuters) ? Former president Pervez Musharraf will return to Pakistan once the tensions between the government and the Supreme Court subside, a senior official in his All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) said Friday.
Musharraf announced this month he planned to return home between January 27 and 30 and take part in a parliamentary election due to be held by 2013, but later said aides had advised him to delay his return due to political instability.
Mohammad Saif, secretary-general of APML, said Musharraf did not want his return to overshadow a contempt case being heard in the Supreme Court against Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani that could push him out of office.
"General Musharraf will return to Pakistan, that's for sure. But we are waiting for the tension between the government and the Supreme Court to subside," Saif told journalists in Dubai.
"The government, which is bogged down in court cases and has failed on both economic and political fronts, would try to wiggle out of this situation by diverting the attention to General Musharraf."
He gave no date for Musharraf's return.
Pakistan's Supreme Court Thursday adjourned the contempt hearing for Gilani which is adding to growing pressure on the unpopular civilian government.
Gilani was in court to explain why he should not be charged with contempt for failing to re-open old corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The government maintains Zardari has presidential immunity.
Saif said Musharraf was upset by the delay, but took the advice of his party and would stay in Dubai until his return home. Musharraf was not at the news conference.
Pakistan's government also faces pressure from the military over a mysterious memo seeking U.S. help to avert an alleged planned coup last year.
Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and briefly imposed a state of emergency in Pakistan before resigning in 2008, has been living in Dubai for almost three years.
(Reporting by Amena Bakr; Writing by Nour Merza; Editing by Sami Aboudi and Robert Woodward)
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Business, social media to prevent babies with HIV (AP)
DAVOS, Switzerland ? Business and social media leaders teamed up Friday to tackle the transmission of HIV from mothers to babies, saying the medicine and the money are largely in place, and with the right organizational skills they can eliminate HIV-infected births by 2015.
John Megrue, CEO of Apax Partners U.S., will chair a business group that includes bankers and consulting experts and will help coordinate work being done by several governments and other international donors, as well as filling in gaps in the funding.
Women need to receive antiretroviral drugs to prevent the virus being passed to their unborn babies.
"There are no technological issues around it. There are no medical issues around it. It does not exist in the wealthy part of the world," Megrue said. "But there are still almost 400,000 children a year born ? primarily in sub-Saharan Africa ? with HIV."
Ambassador Eric Goosby, a top U.S. AIDS official, said that although the group set a goal of zero transmission by 2015, in reality about 13 percent of babies born to HIV-positive mothers will unavoidably be born with the virus.
Randi Zuckerberg, who founded RtoZ Studios after leaving the Facebook company that her brother Mark started, will lend the power of social media to increase awareness about the issue, by pulling in 1,000 influential Twitter and Facebook users in an expansion of an earlier social media effort to raise $200 million to fight malaria.
"I'm calling this a social good broadcast experiment," she said. "The long-term vision is for this to be a group of thousands or millions of people who can all broadcast in a coordinated manner where there is a global crisis."
Other business leaders involved in the project include Dominic Barton, managing director of consulting firm McKinsey & Co., and Cynthia Carroll, CEO of the mining company Anglo American PLC.
"AIDS," Carroll said, "should not be a disease of children."
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Accused Pentagon shooter Melaku pleads guilty (AP)
ALEXANDRIA, Va. ? An ex-Marine from Virginia pleaded guilty Thursday and has agreed to serve a 25-year prison sentence on charges that he fired a series of overnight pot shots in 2010 at the Pentagon, the Marine Corps museum in Quantico and other military targets as part of what prosecutors called a campaign to strike fear throughout the region.
Prosecutors also revealed Thursday new details about Yonathan Melaku's intended next target: Arlington National Cemetery, where he was arrested before he was able to carry out a plan to deface gravestones there.
As part of Thursday's plea deal, Melaku, 24, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty to destruction of U.S. property, use of a firearm in an act of violence and intention to injure a veterans' memorial, namely the cemetery. Prosecutors and Melaku's lawyer agreed to a 25-year sentence as part of the deal, and U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee said he would agree to the sentence as well.
Formal sentencing was delayed until April so a pre-sentence report can be prepared and Melaku's lawyer can request a mental-health evaluation for his client.
Prosecutors also released a video, made by Melaku, that was part of the evidence in the case, in which Melaku is seen firing shots at the National Museum of the Marine Corps as he drives by from I-95, where the museum is easily visible. In the video, Melaku shouts "God is Great!" in Arabic and talks about targeting the museum and "turning it off permanently."
The overnight shootings in October and November of 2010 twice targeted the Marine Corps museum and once each targeted the Pentagon and military recruiting stations in Woodbridge and Chantilly.
The shootings raised a high level of concerns, prompting authorities to suspect they were related and conducted by an individual with a grievance against the military in general or the Marines specifically.
But the shootings went unsolved until this summer, when Melaku ? a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ethiopia ? was spotted by police on Fort Myer and ran off, leaving a backpack behind. He was later caught and arrested at Arlington National Cemetery. The incident prompted a massive security scare in and around the Pentagon.
In the backpack police found spent shell casings; five pounds of ammonium nitrate, a common material in homemade explosives; two cans of spray paint; and a notebook in Arabic that contained references to Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and the "path to jihad."
Melaku eventually admitted to authorities that he planned to desecrate grave markers in the cemetery by spraying Arabic graffiti on them, and to deliberately leave the ammonium nitrate behind.
Nobody was hurt in any of the incidents, but Melaku has been ordered to make $111,000 in restitution for the damage he caused to the buildings, including the Pentagon.
Though no one was hurt, FBI spokeswoman Jacqueline Maguire called the case serious, and credited investigators for arresting Melaku before he did worse. She noted that a search of Melaku's home produced evidence that Melaku was looking to build a homemade timer.
The defense lawyer, Gregory English, said he has no doubt that his client is legally sane, but said a proper mental-health diagnosis may help his client become a better person while he serves his sentence.
English, himself a former Marine, said after the hearing that his personal experience suggests it's possible that some sort of post-traumatic stress or dispute with the Marines may have triggered Melaku's actions rather than any desire to support al-Qaida or the Taliban.
"The facts of the case and what his parents are saying to me about the young man suggests these actions are totally out of character," English said.
Dana Boente, the top assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, which prosecuted the case, said authorities have no evidence that Melaku suffers from any serious mental-health disorders or that his years in the Marine reserves provided a motive for the crime. He said Melaku never served overseas.
Boente called the crimes "a campaign of calculated and sustained attacks against military installations and memorials in northern Virginia."
Melaku did not speak during the hearing, except to answer a series of questions from the judge with a soft-spoken, "Yes, sir" and a final "guilty, sir" to formally enter his plea.
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Friday, January 27, 2012
US Embassy: US citizen kidnapped in Nigeria freed
This undated photo provided by Teresa Ock, shows William Gregory Ock, 50, of Bowdon, Ga. The U.S. citizen kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta has been freed after a week in captivity, the U.S. Embassy said Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Deb MacLean told The Associated Press that Ock had been released after being kidnapped in Warri in Delta state on Jan. 20. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Teresa Ock)
This undated photo provided by Teresa Ock, shows William Gregory Ock, 50, of Bowdon, Ga. The U.S. citizen kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta has been freed after a week in captivity, the U.S. Embassy said Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Deb MacLean told The Associated Press that Ock had been released after being kidnapped in Warri in Delta state on Jan. 20. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Teresa Ock)
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) ? A U.S. citizen kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta has been freed after a week in captivity, the U.S. Embassy said.
U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Deb MacLean told The Associated Press on Friday that the man had been released after being kidnapped in Warri in Delta state on Jan. 20. MacLean declined to offer any other details, citing privacy rules. Delta state police spokesman Charles Muka said he had not been informed about the man's release, as his company refused to cooperate with local authorities.
The freed hostage was identified as William Gregory Ock, 50, of Bowdon, Georgia, by his sister, Dee Dee Patterson.
Patterson told the AP on Friday that the family had no details of his release.
"The only thing we know is that he is safe and he is in a secure location," Patterson said by telephone.
She had no information on when Ock would return home to Georgia.
It was not immediately clear whether a ransom had been paid to secure his release, though many companies working in the region carry kidnap insurance and simply pay a negotiated price to see their employees freed. Kidnappers had made contact with authorities previously and demanded a $333,000 ransom.
The attack Jan. 20 occurred outside a bank branch in Warri, one of the main cities in nation's Niger Delta, a region of mangroves and swamps where foreign oil companies pump 2.4 million barrels of crude oil a day. The gunmen attacked Ock as he came outside, shooting his police escort to death before abducting him, Muka said.
Investigators believe the gunmen trailed him for some time before the attack, Muka said.
Foreign firms have pumped oil out of the delta for more than 50 years. Despite the billions flowing into Nigeria's government, many in the delta remain desperately poor, living in polluted waters without access to proper medical care, education or work.
In 2006, militants started a wave of attacks targeting foreign oil companies, including bombing their pipelines, kidnapping their workers and fighting with security forces. That violence waned in 2009 with a government-sponsored amnesty program promising ex-fighters monthly payments and job training. However, few in the delta have seen the promised benefits and criminal gangs still roam the region, increasingly targeting middle-class Nigerians.
In 2011, there were five reported kidnappings of U.S. citizens in Nigeria, according to a recent U.S. State Department travel warning about the country. The most recent occurred in November when two U.S. citizens and a Mexican were kidnapped from a Chevron Corp. offshore oil field and held for about two weeks, the State Department said.
A German working in the city of Kano in north Nigeria was abducted Thursday by unknown gunmen, authorities have said.
___
Associated Press writer Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.
___
Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
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Miley Cyrus Licks Penis Cake for Boyfriend's Birthday
Liam Hemsworth turned 22 years old last week and those close to the actor celebrated with a party Saturday evening at Club Icon in Los Angeles.
It was your basic festive occasion, with one notable exception that is now making headlines for Miley Cyrus: the singer, reported by onlookers to have been drinking heavily all night, got up close and VERY personal with her boyfriend's birthday cake.
Which was shaped like a penis.
TMZ has posted photos of Miley squatting, sticking out her tongue and posing provocatively at the base of the phallic creation.
At this point, we almost admire Cyrus for legitimately not caring what others say about her. Consider just a few of her actions when cameras were around:
- She smoked salvia out of a bong.
- She joked about being a pot head.
- She posed both topless and in weird poses with her dad for Vanity Fair.
What do you make of Miley's latest antics? Just a young gal having fun? Or another example of the role model not understanding her influence on fans?
[Photo: WENN.com]
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/miley-cyrus-licks-penis-cake-for-boyfriends-birthday/
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
AT&T posts big loss on hefty charges, iPhone costs (Reuters)
(Reuters) ? AT&T Inc (T.N) posted a $6.7 billion quarterly loss due to a hefty break-up fee for its failed T-Mobile USA merger and other charges on top of costly subsidies for smartphones such as Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) popular iPhone.
Its shares fell about 1 percent after the news. While the No. 2 U.S. wireless provider beat analysts' expectations for subscriber additions, the growth came at a cost as its wireless service margins plummeted. It also took a big non-cash pension-related charge on top of its $4 billion break-up package.
While advanced devices like iPhone can help subscriber numbers and revenue, they also shrink earnings as operators like AT&T and its bigger rival Verizon Wireless heavily subsidize the device to attract customers to two-year contracts.
AT&T's wireless service margin based on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization dropped to 28.7 percent from 43.7 percent in the third quarter and 37.6 percent a year earlier.
"If there's any reason to be upset, it certainly is the margins," said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Chris King, but he noted that strong smartphone sales should help AT&T in the long run.
The No. 2 U.S. mobile provider said it had added 717,000 subscribers in the quarter, beating the average expectation for 570,000 from seven analysts.
But AT&T's subscriber growth still lagged well behind Verizon Wireless whose parent Verizon Communications (VZ.N) reported on Tuesday that its wireless venture with Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L) had added 1.2 million subscribers in the quarter. Verizon Wireless margins were also hurt by smartphone sales, but not as much as AT&T. [ID:nL2E8CO1WK]
Roe Equity Research analyst Kevin Roe said that only time will tell if the race to sign on smartphone customers will be worth the massive drag on margins.
"Its not getting easier. It will be tougher in 2012," he said. "The cost to capture and retain customers will increase as competition increases."
AT&T forecast earnings growth in the mid-single-digit percentage range or better for 2012 and said it may be able to accelerate its earnings growth rate after 2012.
It forecast growth of about 2 percent for wireless average monthly revenue per user in 2012 and promised overall revenue growth without giving a specific target.
"They should at least do that. Hopefully they do better than 2 percent," said Roe.
Along with pushing advanced phones, operators are spending billions of dollars on upgrading their networks. Like AT&T and Verizon Wireless, smaller rival Sprint Nextel (S.N) is also upgrading its network for advanced services this year.
On top of this analysts see T-Mobile USA as a big competitive threat as it will be desperate to attract new subscribers growth since its AT&T deal failed.
AT&T posted a fourth-quarter loss of $6.68 billion, or $1.12 per share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $1.09 billion, or 18 cents per share.
Excluding the special charges, AT&T earned 42 cents per share, a penny below Wall Street expectations, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue rose to $32.5 billion from $31.36 billion and compared with Wall Street expectations for $31.97 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company said it has set aside a budget of $20 billion for 2012 capital spending, similar to 2011 levels.
AT&T had to scrap its plans to buy Deutsche Telekom's (DTEGn.DE) T-Mobile USA in December after regulatory opposition.
Shares of AT&T fell about 1 percent to $29.85 in trading before the market opened.
(Editing by Maureen Bavdek, Dave Zimmerman)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/bs_nm/us_att
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Prosecutor: Stanford stole investors' money
FILE - In this Aug. 24, 2010 file photo, R. Allen Stanford arrives in custody at the federal courthouse for a hearing in Houston. On Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, after much delay, federal prosecutors in Houston are due to begin laying out their case against Stanford, telling jurors that the 61-year-old?s business empire was built on smoke and mirrors and that he bilked investors out of more than $7 billion over 20 years as part of a massive Ponzi scheme. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 24, 2010 file photo, R. Allen Stanford arrives in custody at the federal courthouse for a hearing in Houston. On Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, after much delay, federal prosecutors in Houston are due to begin laying out their case against Stanford, telling jurors that the 61-year-old?s business empire was built on smoke and mirrors and that he bilked investors out of more than $7 billion over 20 years as part of a massive Ponzi scheme. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
HOUSTON (AP) ? The dreams of people saving for retirement or for their children's education were ruined as Texas financier R. Allen Stanford used money they deposited in his Caribbean bank to instead support his lavish billionaire lifestyle, a prosecutor said Tuesday at his fraud trial.
But one of Stanford's attorneys told jurors the financier was a resourceful businessman whose financial empire, which spanned the U.S., the Caribbean and Latin America, was real and paid investors every penny that was promised to them.
Prosecutor Gregg Costa said during his opening statement that Stanford's business empire was built on smoke and mirrors and the financier used lies, theft and bribes to bilk investors out of more than $7 billion over 20 years. He said the scheme was centered on sales of certificates of deposit from a bank Stanford owned on the Caribbean island of Antigua, which promised substantially higher rates of return on the CDs than U.S. banks and promised investors their money was safe.
Stanford is on trial for 14 counts, including wire and mail fraud. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The 61-year-old is expected to testify during the trial, which will likely last at least six weeks. Testimony is set to begin Wednesday.
"People trusted Mr. Stanford with their entire life savings based on his promise to them he was putting their money in safe, conservative, low-risk investments," Costa said.
But Costa told jurors Stanford instead sank investors' money in a variety of his own businesses, including two airlines, and that many of these businesses failed. Costa also accused Stanford of using up to $2 billion of investors' money as personal loans to buy homes and yachts and fund cricket matches.
"He treated depositors' savings like it was his own personal piggy bank," he told the jury, which was chosen earlier Tuesday and includes a kindergarten teacher, a pawn shop owner and a retired hairdresser.
Once considered one of the U.S.'s wealthiest people, with an estimated net worth of more than $2 billion, Stanford became so prominent in his adopted country of Antigua, where he took on dual citizenship, that he was knighted by the Caribbean island's government and became known as "Sir Allen."
Stanford's business empire was run through the Houston-based Stanford Financial Group, but at its heart was Antiguan-based Stanford International Bank.
Prosecutors say Stanford used money from the sale of the CDs, which were sold to clients from more than 100 countries, to pay off those purchased earlier once they matured and to support his other businesses.
Costa said more than $300 million of depositors' savings was funneled to two airlines Stanford ran in the Caribbean, $20 million to an entity whose purpose was to pay expenses related to Stanford's yacht and $37 million to a company whose purpose was to promote cricket tournaments in which Stanford gave out million-dollar prizes.
The prosecutor said Stanford and three former executives at his companies who also face charges covered up their misdeeds by fabricating the bank's records and bribing Antiguan regulators and auditors with more than $3 million and with perks like Super Bowl tickets.
Costa said Stanford's scheme fell apart in 2008 when his bank was running out of money and investors couldn't be paid back.
But Robert Scardino, one of Stanford's attorneys, told jurors the financier was a clever businessman who for 22 years paid investors every penny that he promised them.
"It wasn't a fraud. It wasn't a pie in the sky. It was an investment he hoped would make a real return," Scardino said.
Scardino told jurors that Stanford didn't need to steal depositors' money and use it as personal loans.
"If he needed money, could go to a bank and borrow up to $1 billion," he said.
Scardino suggested to jurors that the ex-chief financial officer for Stanford's company, James Davis, is the real culprit behind the financial fraud alleged by prosecutors. Davis has pleaded guilty and is expected to testify on behalf of prosecutors during the trial.
Davis "ran the company, he managed the business, he handled the money," Scardino said. "Stanford was kind of an absentee CEO, the visionary, the guy who had the ideas."
Scardino told jurors that Stanford had been paying back all of his investors but that stopped when authorities seized his companies and began selling them off.
"In fact, in 2008, when the economy was in the tank ... he still paid what was promised to be paid. He didn't take the money and run," he said.
Stanford has been in jail since his arrest 2? years ago because he was deemed a flight risk. His trial was delayed after he was declared incompetent due to an addiction he developed in jail to an anti-anxiety drug and he underwent treatment. He was also evaluated for any long-term effects from being injured in a September 2009 jail fight. Stanford was declared fit for trial last month.
Once Antigua's richest citizen, primary banker and its largest private employer, Stanford had his assets seized and now has court-appointed attorneys after an insurance policy that had been paying for his defense was revoked. Stanford is on his fifth set of lawyers since being indicted.
The three other indicted former executives are to be tried in June. A former Antiguan financial regulator was also indicted and he awaits extradition to the U.S.
Stanford and the former executives are also fighting a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit filed in Dallas that makes similar allegations.
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Video: Video: Joe Flacco questions media treatment
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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/46108501#46108501
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
How cells dispose of their waste: Researchers reveal the structure of the cellular protein degradation machinery
ScienceDaily (Jan. 23, 2012) ? Max Planck researchers reveal the structure of the cellular protein degradation machinery. Defective proteins that are not disposed of by the body can cause diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Biochemistry recently succeeded in revealing the structure of the cellular protein degradation machinery (26S proteasome) by combining different methods of structural biology. The results of collaboration with colleagues from the University of California, San Francisco and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Z?rich) represent an important step forward in the investigation of the 26S proteasome.
The findings have now been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
At any given point in time, cells may contain only the proteins that are needed at exactly this moment. Otherwise, undesirable reactions can occur which could cause cancer or other diseases. Furthermore, the proteins have to be folded correctly to fulfill their tasks. Misfolded proteins can clump into aggregates, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's may be the consequence. In order to prevent this, several mechanisms in the body regulate the number of proteins in the cell and degrade proteins if necessary.
"Cellular waste disposal" -- the 26S proteasome -- plays an important role in protein degradation. First, misfolded and potentially dangerous proteins are tagged with molecules called ubiquitin. The 26S proteasome detects the tagged proteins and breaks them down into small fragments, which are then recycled. Scientists in the team of Wolfgang Baumeister, head of the research department "Molecular Structural Biology" at the MPI of Biochemistry, have now been able to reveal its structure.
Many puzzle pieces lead to one structure
"The structure of the 26S proteasome changes continuously," explained Friedrich F?rster, head of the research group "Modeling of Protein Complexes" at the MPI of Biochemistry. "That is why until now it could not be explained by means of traditional approaches, such as only using X-ray crystallography. We had to combine different methods to be successful." Electron microscopy and mass spectrometry helped to reveal the general structure of the 26S proteasome. X-ray crystallography provided detailed insights into specific areas of the molecule. The researchers then used computer software to integrate the different data and generate an overall picture.
Based on these results, the researchers next want to find out how the different mechanisms of protein degradation work in detail. "We have already developed a hypothesis of how exactly the 26S proteasome detects tagged proteins and processes them," said Stefan Bohn, scientist at the MPI of Biochemistry. The complete elucidation of the 26S proteasome and its underlying mechanisms could also be of medical importance: "Cellular waste disposal" is a therapeutic target for cancer und neurodegenerative diseases.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, via AlphaGalileo.
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Journal References:
- Keren Lasker, Friedrich F?rster, Stefan Bohn, Thomas Walzthoeni, Elizabeth Villa, Pia Unverdorben, Florian Beck, Ruedi Aebersold, Andrej Sali, Wolfgang Baumeister. Molecular architecture of the 26S proteasome holocomplex determined by an integrative approach. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1120559109
- G. R. Pathare, I. Nagy, S. Bohn, P. Unverdorben, A. Hubert, R. Korner, S. Nickell, K. Lasker, A. Sali, T. Tamura, T. Nishioka, F. Forster, W. Baumeister, A. Bracher. The proteasomal subunit Rpn6 is a molecular clamp holding the core and regulatory subcomplexes together. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011; 109 (1): 149 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1117648108
- E. Sakata, S. Bohn, O. Mihalache, P. Kiss, F. Beck, I. Nagy, S. Nickell, K. Tanaka, Y. Saeki, F. Forster, W. Baumeister. Localization of the proteasomal ubiquitin receptors Rpn10 and Rpn13 by electron cryomicroscopy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1119394109
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/AaG8PuSYy3Q/120123152045.htm
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Switched On: Connected Electronics Show
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Compared to CES 2011, which featured an explosion of tablets and high-powered smartphones poised to jump on emerging 4G networks, this year's edition of Gear and Gloating in Las Vegas was a more muted affair when it came to mobile devices. Sure, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile trotted out a few devices and there were even a few standouts, such as the Transformer Primesque Lenovo IdeaTab S2 with its its docking keyboard as well as the heavily promoted Galaxy Note, coming soon the U.S. after launching in Europe. 
Continue reading Switched On: Connected Electronics Show
Switched On: Connected Electronics Show originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Romney stance on Dream Act is magnified in Florida (AP)
MIAMI ? Mitt Romney's promise to veto a measure that would create a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants threatens to turn off some Hispanic voters, whose support could be critical in a general election match-up against President Barack Obama.
The issue is gaining prominence as the GOP front-runner heads toward the Jan. 31 primary in Florida, even though most of the state's Hispanics are Puerto Rican or Cuban-American and, thus, aren't affected by U.S. immigration law, nor view it as a priority. Still, it's a state where 13 percent of registered voters are Hispanic, where the nation's largest Spanish-language TV networks are based, and where the nation's third-largest number of illegal immigrants live ? intensifying the focus on Romney's position.
"Latino voters, like all voters in this country, are interested in America being an opportunity nation," Romney said Monday night during a debate in South Carolina, when asked if his promise to veto the so-called Dream Act was alienating voters. "In my view, as long as we communicate to the people of all backgrounds in this country that it can be better, and that America is a land of opportunity, we will get those votes."
Maybe not.
His veto promise ? first made in the days before the Iowa caucuses ? has hit a nerve with prominent Hispanics, and some Republicans worry that the position will turn off the growing number of Latino voters in swing-voting states, particularly in the west, who are now on the fence after backing Obama in 2008. These Republicans suggest that Romney was trying to curry favor with hardline Republican primary voters at the expense of Hispanics whose support he would need come the fall.
"If Romney's the nominee, he's going to have to come to the center and make some decisions about how to resolve that issue," said Republican Herman Echevarria, a Cuban-American who is the CEO of a Miami-based bilingual advertising agency and a longtime local political player. "He's trying to be a conservative candidate. And if you don't become a conservative candidate, you cannot be the candidate of the Republicans. But you cannot be elected president just as a conservative candidate."
Already, there are signs of backlash.
For Colombia native Ana Rodriguez, a Miami-based graphic designer who received political asylum and will become a U.S. citizen this year, Romney's comments are precisely what motivated her to vote ? against him. "Because of what I went through," Rodriguez said, "I want more people (elected) who are interested in supporting immigrants and want a more equal and fair system of immigration."
Florida Dream Act activists, who have been among the most visible in the nation, also are promising to keep the heat on Romney as his campaign comes to the state.
And last week, at El Tropical restaurant in Miami, Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who has endorsed Romney, told a group of mostly Cuban-American GOP primary voters that the former Massachusetts governor was the only candidate who could fix the economy and protect U.S. security interests. Then, a young Colombian immigrant stepped forward and asked Diaz-Balart, who has championed immigrants' rights including the Dream Act, how the congressman could support Romney.
"You have been such a friend to us, I just don't understand," said Juan Rodriguez, a student at Florida International University who was among a half-dozen students who walked from Miami to Washington in the winter to raise awareness of the legislation.
The exchange was caught on tape by several Spanish-language media outlets that reach viewers around the world.
Romney has arguably the toughest immigration position of any of the Republican candidates. Newt Gingrich would give legal status to illegal immigrants who have deep roots in the U.S. and lived otherwise lawfully.
Conversely, Romney has been adamantly opposed to any type of amnesty for illegal immigrants since his first White House run in 2008. Previously, he called reasonable a bipartisan proposal to allow immigrants to seek green cards in exchange for certain penalties, though he says he never officially supported such legislation.
Last year, Romney objected to the Dream Act. But he went further in the days before the Iowa caucuses when asked if he would veto the measure.
"The answer is yes," Romney told voters then.
While he said he does not oppose creating a path for those who serve in the U.S. military to become permanent residents, he also said he doesn't believe such individuals should be able to adjust their status by attending school, nor should they receive in-state tuition.
Since narrowly winning the Iowa caucuses, Romney has been sending Hispanics mixed messages.
He's working to woo Hispanics and convince them he's sincere in fighting their causes, recently launching TV commercials in Florida featuring Cuban-Americans Diaz-Balart and fellow U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, as well as his son Craig speaking in Spanish.
But, in South Carolina, he's also been campaigning with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the leading architect behind the tough Arizona-style immigration laws. Even many Latinos who support tougher immigration laws worry such measures will lead to racial profiling because they give broad leeway to law enforcement to stop anyone whom they suspect of being in the country illegally.
"This is all about his primary right now," said Benjamin Bishin, a University of California, Riverside political science professor who has long studied Cuban-American and other Latino political attitudes.
Jennifer Korn of the center-right group the Hispanic Leadership Network, which is co-hosting a GOP primary debate and Latino conference this month in Florida, said Romney took a risk in alienating Hispanic voters. But, she added, he's also made clear he wants to fix the broader immigration system.
"If he explains it correctly, he definitely has a chance to have the Hispanic community listen to what he has to say," she said.
He seemed to try to do just that during recent debates, saying: "I love legal immigration," but that "to protect our legal immigration system we have got to protect our borders and stop the flood of illegal immigration."
That appeared to be enough for Peter Gonzalez, a Cuban-American commercial attorney and fiscally conservative Democrat.
"It's nice to hear a guy who the media has said is taking a harsh turn to the right on immigration say they love legal immigration," he said.
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Costa CEO says captain misled company, crew (AP)
ROME ? The cruise captain who grounded the Costa Concordia off the Tuscan coast with 4,200 people on board did not relay correct information either to the company or crew after the ship hit rocks, the cruise ship owner's CEO said Friday as the search resumed for 21 missing passengers.
CEO Pierluigi Foschi told Italian state TV that the company spoke to the captain at 10:05 p.m. (2105 GMT; 4:05 p.m. EST), some 20 minutes after the ship ran aground on Jan. 13, but could not offer proper assistance because the captain's description "did not correspond to the truth."
Capt. Francesco Schettino said only that he had "problems" on board but did not mention hitting a reef.
Likewise, Foschi said crew members were not informed of the gravity of the situation.
Passenger video shown on Italian TV indicates crew members telling passengers to go to their cabins as late as 10:25 p.m. (2125 GMT; 4:25 p.m. EST). The abandon ship alarm sounded just before 11:00 p.m. (2200 GMT; 5:00 p.m. EST).
"That's because they also did not receive correct information on the gravity of the situation," Foschi said.
The $450 million Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it slammed into well-charted rocks off the island of Giglio a week ago. Eleven people have been confirmed dead.
The Concordia shifted again on its rocky perch Friday, forcing the suspension of diving search operations for the 21 people still missing and raising concerns about the stability of the ship's resting place. But the search in areas above the waterline resumed in the evening after the ship was deemed stable.
The remarks by Costa CEO Foschi are the latest to indicate a lack of proper communication with authorities on land as the emergency unfolded.
An audiotape of the Concordia's first contact with maritime authorities has a Concordia office repeatedly replying that the ship had experienced a blackout, even though it had hit the reef more than half an hour earlier.
Italian media reported the officer on the call was Schettino, but that could not be independently confirmed.
Costa Crociere SpA, which offered support to the captain in the hours after the emergency, has now turned its back on the man who is under investigation for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship. Schettino, who was jailed after he left the ship, is under house arrest near Naples.
Costa in recent days has suspended Schettino, announced it is no longer paying his legal fees and has signed on as a civil party in the prosecution, a move that positions it as an injured party and would allow it to seek damages in the case of a guilty verdict.
Coast Guard spokesman Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro said crews will evaluate the ship's stability Saturday morning to see if the diving operation can resume, focusing on an area where passengers would have sought lifeboats, Nicastro said.
It was not clear if the slight movements registered by sensors placed on board the Costa Concordia were just vibrations as the ship settles on the rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio or if the massive ocean liner is slowly slipping off the reef. Salvage experts suggest it could be because of pockets of air gradually escaping.
The sensors detected that the ship's bow was moving about 15 millimeters (half an inch) an hour and the stern about 7 millimeters (one-quarter inch) an hour, said Nicola Casagli of the University of Florence, who was called in by Italian authorities to monitor the ship's stability.
The Concordia's movements are being watched since any significant shift could be dangerous for divers trying to locate those missing since the Concordia ran aground Jan. 13. An additional fear is that movement could damage tanks holding a 500,000 gallons of fuel oil and lead to leaks.
The sea floor drops off sharply a few meters (yards) from where the ship is resting, and Italy's environment minister has warned it risks sinking.
On Friday, relatives of some of the 21 missing were at Giglio's port getting briefings from rescue teams.
Casagli told Sky TG24 that some movement in the Concordia was only natural given the immense weight of the steel-hulled ship, which is being held in place by two huge rocks at bow and stern.
But the latest movements indicate it isn't stable, he said. "These are small, regular movements that are being monitored because they're going in the same direction," he told Sky.
Late Thursday, Carnival Corp., the U.S.-based company that owns Costa, announced it was conducting a comprehensive audit of all 10 of its cruise lines to review safety and emergency response procedures in the wake of the Costa disaster. The evacuation was chaotic and the alarm to abandon the ship was sounded after the Concordia had capsized too much to get many life boats down.
___
Colleen Barry reported from Milan. Andrea Foa contributed from Giglio, Italy.
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'Red Tails' airmen have new target: box office (AP)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? Tuskegee Airman Herbert Carter flew 77 missions during World War II and crashed landed only once, impressive numbers that challenged those skeptical of the abilities of black aviators. Decades later, he and the other legendary African-American airmen he flew with must once again prove themselves ? at the box office.
"Red Tails," a movie chronicling the heroism of the Tuskegee Airmen and starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terence Howard, opens Friday in 2,500 theaters nationwide.
"Star Wars" creator George Lucas has been blunt about his 23-year struggle to make the film. He said executives at every major studio rejected it because they didn't think mainstream viewers would pay to see an all-black cast.
The 94-year-old Carter sees the hesitation by studios as history repeating itself.
"It goes back to the old axiom that the all-black fighter squadron, in their estimate, wasn't going to do well," said Carter, who made a career of the Air Force and retired as a lieutenant colonel. "It ... doesn't surprise me."
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black aviators in the U.S. military. They were trained in Alabama at Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, as a segregated unit during World War II.
After being admitted to the Army Air Corps, they were prohibited from fighting alongside white counterparts and faced severe prejudice, yet went on to become one of World War II's most respected fighter squadrons, successfully escorting countless bombers during the war.
And once back home, many became affluent businessmen and community leaders, despite the continued racism they faced.
"My heroes, those original airmen, set the pace for us younger people," quipped 77-year-old Leon Crayton, a former Air Force flier and member of the honorary Tuskegee Airmen chapter in Tuskegee, Ala., one of 55 in the U.S.
Lucas had several of the surviving airmen join him for a screening of the movie in New York last week, including Dr. Roscoe Brown, Floyd Carter, Roscoe Draper, Shade Lee, Charles McGee, Eugene Richardson and Theobald G. Wilson.
Nate Parker, who plays the role of a flight leader in "Red Tails," said he and the other actors were motivated by the leadership and bravery of the airmen, who distinguished themselves by painting the tails of their planes red, and formed a circle of prayer before many of their missions.
"They all strove for excellence," said Parker. "Excellence is the driving force through adversity, in everything we do."
Syndicated radio host Tom Joyner, whose father was an early cadet in the Tuskegee Airman program, agreed. He said airmen like his father inspired him at one time to do a morning show in Dallas and then fly to Chicago for an afternoon show, earning the nicknames "The Fly Jock" and "The Hardest Working Man in Radio."
While the big studios may calculate that a movie focused on blacks can't be a box office success, promoters of "Red Tails" are playing up the aerial thrills and heroism that should appeal to all viewers, regardless of their race.
"These are American heroes whose story just needs to be put on the largest, biggest, widest screen possible," said Tirrell Whittley, head of Liquid Soul Media, which is marketing the film.
Carter and other surviving airmen, some of whom were advisers during the making of the movie, say they're appreciative to Lucas for spending nearly $100 million of his own money to make and market the film.
"It's a wonderful feeling that finally there is some recognition that's being done in a manner that is credible to the Tuskegee Airmen," Carter said.
Black filmmakers and actors are pulling for the movie to be successful because they realize its success could mean more opportunities for them.
"Every black film that's made seems to have a bearing on whether black filmmakers get an opportunity," said Terverius Black, a documentary filmmaker in Huntsville, Ala. "I want to see it be successful."
Joyner said he too wants the movie to have strong box office numbers, but acknowledges it will be challenging.
"You have to make twice the money that you put in just to break even," Joyner said. "You put in $100 million, you got to make $200 million. So this will be pretty monumental."
Some historians and scholars believe the movie's general war theme will be an attraction to all audiences.
Bobby Lovett was a history professor at Tennessee State University in Nashville for nearly 40 years before recently retiring. He often invited some of the Tuskegee Airmen to speak to his students, who were fascinated by their stories.
"There's a sort of romanticism attached to pilots and aircraft," he said. "I don't know of any other story you could pull out of World War II that would be as appealing to an audience."
Vanderbilt University professor Alice Randall said the movie could introduce some to a portion of black history they've never heard.
"We have an opportunity to ... educate viewers, even as we entertain them, about the rainbow of Americans who have performed patriotic duty for this country," said Randall, a writer-in-residence in African American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt.
Tennessee Rep. Tony Shipley, a Kingsport Republican and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who has attended events with the Tuskegee Airmen, said "the war could have gone a different direction" had it not been for the airmen who escorted bombers deep into Germany.
"Those guys were ... absolutely awesome," said Shipley, who is white. "And if anybody pays attention to the story ? who cares black, white, green, yellow ? they were Americans. People are alive today whose grandfather would have been killed had it not been for the Tuskegee Airmen."
Vernice Armour, the nation's first black female combat pilot, said the airmen helped pave the way for men and women in the military, and noted a phrase at the bottom of a poster advertising the movie that reads: "Courage has no color."
"Without their honor, courage and sacrifice, I wouldn't be where I am," said Armour, who served two tours during the Iraq War as a Marine.
The Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their service in 2007 by President George W. Bush, and were invited to attend President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009. The president and first lady Michelle Obama screened "Red Tails" at the White House last week.
Regardless of its impact at the box office, many believe the inspirational message of the movie will linger for a long time.
"These are the type of films I try to do," Parker said. "Things that ... you can take into our community and effect change in a way that the airmen did."
___
Online:
http://www.redtails2012.com/
http://www.invisibleheroesmovie.com/
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
Telescope gazes into nebula's golden eye
A nearby planetary nebula shines like a huge golden eye in a new photo snapped by a telescope in Chile.
The image shows the Helix Nebula, which lies about 700 light-years from Earth in the constellation Aquarius, the Water Bearer. The picture was taken in infrared light by the European Southern Observatory's VISTA telescope, one of the instruments at ESO's Paranal Observatory.
The Helix Nebula is a planetary nebula, a strange object that forms when a star like our sun exhausts its hydrogen fuel. The star's outer layers expand and cool, creating a huge envelope of dust and gas. Radiation flowing from the dying star ionizes this envelope, causing it to glow.
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More space news from msnbc.com
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'Pillars of Creation' seen in a new light
Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Images from the Herschel and XMM-Newton probes reveal new details in what's arguably the most famous picture from the Hubble Space Telescope.
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'Pillars of Creation' seen in a new light
Despite their name, planetary nebulas have nothing to do with planets. Rather, the term refers to their superficial resemblance to giant planets, when observed through early telescopes. [See the new Helix nebula photos and video]
The dying star at the heart of the Helix Nebula is evolving to become a white dwarf, a shrunken, super-dense object that can pack a sun's worth of material into a sphere the size of Earth. The star is visible as a tiny blue dot at the center of the picture, researchers said.
The Helix Nebula is a complex object composed of dust, ionized material and molecular gas, arrayed in an intricate, flowerlike pattern.
The main ring of the Helix is about 2 light-years across, roughly equivalent to half the distance between our sun and its closest star. However, wispy material from the nebula spreads out at least 4 light-years into space from the central star, researchers said.
Cosmic Log: The dust in 'God's Eye'
These thin clouds of molecular gas are difficult to see in visible light, but Vista's infrared detectors can pick them out, and they show up in the new image as a dark red haze.
Vista's keen eye also reveals fine structure in the planetary nebula?s rings, showing how cooler molecular gas is organized. The material clumps into filaments that radiate out from the center.
While they may look tiny, these strands of molecular hydrogen ? known as cometary knots ? are each about the size of our solar system. The molecules that compose them can survive the powerful radiation emanating from the dying star precisely because they clump into these knots, which in turn are shielded by dust and molecular gas.
It is currently unclear how the cometary knots may have formed, researchers said.
The new Vista image also shows a wide array of stars and galaxies in the background, farther away than the Helix Nebula.
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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46062021/ns/technology_and_science-space/
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