Russia loses $200 million satellites as launch ends in firey failure

By Dmitry Solovyov

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - A Russian rocket carrying three navigation satellites worth around $200 million crashed shortly after lift-off from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan on Tuesday after its engines suddenly switched off.

The accident led to a large spill of heptyl, a highly toxic rocket propellant, but there were no reports of casualties or of any immediate threat to nearby settlements.

State-run Rossiya-24 television showed footage of the Proton-M booster rocket veering off course seconds after lift-off. It fell apart in flames in the air and crashed in a ball of fire near the launch pad.

Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying launch-pad personnel were in bunkers when the rocket lifted off.

Russia's space agency Roscosmos said the accident had been caused by the emergency switch-off of the rocket's engines 17 seconds into the flight.

Russia's state-run RIA news agency said the switch-off could have been caused by a problem with the engine or the guidance system.

The rocket contained 172 metric tons (1 metric ton = 1.1023 tons) of highly toxic heptyl propellant, Kazakh Emergencies Minister Vladimir Bozhko told an emergency government meeting.

Talgat Musabayev, head of Kazakhstan's space agency Kazcosmos, said nitric oxide - a product of burning heptyl - was much less toxic for humans. He said it was raining in the area, so toxic clouds would probably not reach the town of Baikonur some 60 km (38 miles) away.

However, the authorities instructed locals to stay at home and not to open windows, and ordered to close shops and public catering, said Kazakh Interior Minister Kalmukhambet Kasymov.

The estimated loss from the three satellites, meant for Russia's troubled Glonass satellite navigation system, was about $200 million, Rossiya-24 reported.

Russia plans to spend more than 300 billion roubles ($9.1 billion) by 2020 on Glonass, its answer to the U.S. GPS system.

The system, first conceived by the Soviet Union more than 40 years ago, has been plagued by failed launches, including one in 2010 in which three satellites were also lost, and by suspicions of corruption and embezzlement. Its chief designer was dismissed last year during a fraud investigation.

The Proton rocket, known at the time under its UR-500 code, made its first test flights in the mid-1960s.

It was originally designed as an intercontinental ballistic missile to carry a nuclear warhead targeting the Soviet Union's Cold War foe the United States. But it was never deployed as a nuclear weapon.

Several crashes of Proton rockets accompanied by spills of heptyl have led to temporary strains in relations between Russia and Kazakhstan.

Russia is increasing spending on space and plans to send a probe to the moon in 2015, but the pioneering program that put the first man in space in 1961 has been plagued in recent years by setbacks, including botched satellite launches and a failed attempt to send a probe to a moon of Mars.

(Additional reporting by Steve Gutterman in Moscow and Raushan Nurshayeva in Asatana; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/unmanned-russian-rocket-crashes-launch-kazakhstan-035601691.html

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'The Killing' keeps it all in the family

TV

Will Harris TODAY contributor

13 hours ago

Carole Segal / AMC

Danette Leeds (Amy Seimetz) and Bullet (Bex Taylor-Klaus) on "The Killing."

It was all about family on AMC?s ?The Killing? this week, with virtually every key storyline revolving around motherhood, fatherhood, or the effect that moms and dads have on their kids ? and vice versa, for that matter ? even when they don?t realize it. That?s not to say that there weren?t other key developments, including the abrupt disappearance of Angie at the end of the episode and the sudden decision to consider Pastor Mike as a suspect, but this was an installment that was about more than just the flashy moments.

Too Little, Too Late?
Despite last week?s ominous conclusion, Danette Leeds managed to move fast and escape from Joe Mills, but she?s so crazed when she arrives at the police station that she?s taken into custody. When Linden arrives, she tries to stay angry at her, but she quickly realizes that Danette?s finally ? if belatedly ? become legitimately worried about her daughter, which is particularly depressing given that the transition has come at a point where the likelihood of Kallie still being alive is dropping ever lower all the time. The depth of Danette?s concern becomes evident when she even goes so far as to reach out to Bullet and asks her for help in her search, resulting in a bit of bonding between them, but when Bullet says, ?She?ll be all right,? and Danette says, ?Yeah,? it?s painfully obvious that neither of them believes it.

Goodbye, Alton; Hello, Dad
In the wake of being granted forgiveness by his siblings for having killed his parents, Alton decides that he?s had just about as much prison as he can take, and Seward, in a slightly twisted yet strangely heartfelt gesture, stands by and lets his friend ?escape? by hanging himself in his cell. With family on his mind, Seward requests a visit with his father, who ? shocker! ? is also in jail. Although viewers finally learn who hooked Seward up with the razor blade a few episodes back (now there?s a dad who knows how to pick gifts for his kid), the visit proves a waste of time for Seward, who seems reasonably horrified to discover that his father thinks he?s actually been a pretty decent parent, having taught his son how to be a man, snapping back at his dad on the way back to his cell, ?Dying in an orange jumpsuit doesn?t make you a man!?

Proud Moments in Parenting
Speaking of Sewards and their kids, Linden?s been called out for having visited Seward?s son at his school, but in the process of getting an earful from the boy?s foster parents, she picks up on a piece of information that hadn?t previously emerged in their investigation: Young Adrian has long had a tendency to sleep in the closet. Putting two and two together, Linden and Holder rush off to commit a ?class-A felony? (Holder?s words) by breaking into the former crime scene, but the end result is the discovery that Adrian saw his mother?s murderer?and it wasn?t Seward. In a desperate attempt to get access to what Adrian knows, since Skinner?s not having any of it, Linden visits Seward and begs for his assistance, admitting that she realizes he?s innocent of his wife?s murder. He snaps and storms away, screaming, ?You came to this realization three years after the fact, just 12 days before I hang? Jesus!?

Well, he has a point.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/killing-keeps-it-all-family-6C10501511

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Obama visits Mandela's former jail before South Africa speech

On Sunday, the First Family visited Robben Island, which is where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 of the nearly 30 years he was in prison. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.

By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News

U.S. President Barack Obama and his family were visiting a former prison island off South Africa on Sunday in tribute to ailing anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela.

The visit to Robben Island ? the penal colony where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in jail ? was taking place hours ahead of a speech at the University of Cape Town.

Obama has already seen Mandela's cell once before, during a visit he made while still a U.S. senator in 2006.

The President and First Lady Michelle Obama made the short but spectacular flight to Robben Island from nearby Cape Town at 1:46 p.m. local time (7:46 a.m. ET).

Obama met privately Saturday with relatives of Mandela, who has been in a serious condition in a hospital in Pretoria, near Johannesburg, for three weeks.

The White House announced earlier that Obama, "out of deference to Nelson Mandela's peace and comfort and the family's wishes," would not visit Mandela, who led South Africa out of racial segregation and became its first black president.

Obama also spoke by telephone with Gra?a Machel, Mandela's wife, while she remained at the 94-year-old former statesman's beside.

"I also reaffirmed the profound impact that his legacy has had in building a free South Africa, and in inspiring people around the world -- including me," Obama said in a statement.

"I expressed my hope that Madiba draws peace and comfort from the time that he is spending with loved ones, and also expressed my heartfelt support for the entire family as they work through this difficult time," Obama said, referring to Mandela by his honorary clan name.

Obama?s Sunday speech echoes the ?Day of Affirmation? address given at the same location in 1966 by Robert Kennedy, who compared struggle to overcome apartheid with the U.S. civil rights movement.

NBC News' Daniel Arkin contributed to this report.

Related:

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This story was originally published on Sun Jun 30, 2013 9:14 AM EDT

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663309/s/2dff1d02/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C30A0C1921730A30Eobama0Evisits0Emandelas0Eformer0Ejail0Ebefore0Esouth0Eafrica0Espeech0Dlite/story01.htm

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Officials: Wayne County Oil Spill Leaks into River

WAYNESBORO, Miss. (AP) - Authorities are cleaning up hundreds of gallons of oil that spilled from a well in Wayne County and leaked into the Chickasawhay River.
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The Clarion-Ledger reports 945 to 2,362 gallons of oil spilled from a well owned by Logan Oil. The company notified Wayne County officials of the spill on Thursday.
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Allen Floyd, field director for the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board, said the spill had been contained and its environmental effects were expected to be "minimal."
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Joseph Dunlap, of the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency, said oil had flowed roughly four miles down the river, which is located about one mile from the oil field.
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Officials estimated the cleanup efforts could last several days.
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The cause of the spill remained under investigation Friday.
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Information from: The Clarion-Ledger

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

6/29/2013 1:49:04 PM (GMT -5:00)

Click here to read this story on www.local15tv.com

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52351472/ns/local_news-mobile_al/

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Is that bacteria dead yet? Nano and laser technology packed into small device tests antibiotic treatment in minutes

June 30, 2013 ? Researchers at EPFL have built a matchbox-sized device that can test for the presence of bacteria in a couple of minutes, instead of up to several weeks. A nano-lever vibrates in the presence of bacterial activity, while a laser reads the vibration and translates it into an electrical signal that can be easily read -- the absence of a signal signifies the absence of bacteria. Thanks to this method, it is quick and easy to determine if a bacteria has been effectively treated by an antibiotic, a crucial medical tool especially for resistant strains. Easily used in clinics, it could also prove useful for testing chemotherapy treatment.

The research is published in the latest issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

"This method is fast and accurate. And it can be a precious tool for both doctors looking for the right dosage of antibiotics and for researchers to determine which treatments are the most effective," explains Giovanni Dietler.

Laser and nanotechnology read the bacteria's metabolic activity

It currently takes a long time to measure a bacterial infection's response to antibiotic treatment. Clinicians must culture the bacteria and then observe its growth, sometimes for almost a month, as is the case with tuberculosis, in order to determine if the treatment has been effective.

Thanks to advances in laser and optical technology, the EPFL team of physicists has reduced this time to a couple of minutes. To do so, Giovanni Dietler, Sandor Kasas and Giovanni Longo have exploited the microscopic movements of a bacterium's metabolism.

These vital signs are almost unperceivable. In order to test for them, the researchers place the bacteria on an extremely sensitive measuring device that vibrates a small lever -- only slightly thicker than a strand of hair -- in the presence of certain activity. The lever then vibrates under the metabolic activity of the germs. These infinitely small oscillations, on the order of one millionth of a millimeter, determine the presence or absence of the bacteria.

To measure these vibrations, the researchers project a laser onto the lever. The light is then reflected back and the signal is converted into an electrical current to be interpreted by the clinician or researcher. When the electrical current is a flat line, one knows that the bacteria are all dead; it is as easy to read as an electrocardiogram.

A promising method for cancer treatment

The researchers have miniaturized the tool -- it is currently the size of a matchbox. "By joining our tool with a piezoelectric device instead of a laser, we could further reduce its size to the size of a microchip," says Giovanni Dietler. They could then be combined together to test a series of antibiotics on one strain in only a couple of minutes.

The researchers are currently evaluating the tool's potential in other fields, notably oncology. They are looking into measuring the metabolism of tumor cells that have been exposed to cancer treatment to evaluate the efficiency of the treatment. "If our method also works in this field, we really have a precious tool on our hands that can allow us to develop new treatments and also test both quickly and simply how the patient is reacting to the cancer treatment," says Sandor Kasas.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/1zTXeSe2UBI/130630145006.htm

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Biological arithmetic: Plants do sums to get through the night

June 24, 2013 ? New research shows that to prevent starvation at night, plants perform accurate arithmetic division. The calculation allows them to use up their starch reserves at a constant rate so that they run out almost precisely at dawn.

"This is the first concrete example in a fundamental biological process of such a sophisticated arithmetic calculation." said mathematical modeller Professor Martin Howard from the John Innes Centre.

Plants feed themselves during the day by using energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide into sugars and starch. Once the sun has set, they must depend on a store of starch to prevent starvation.

In research to be published in the open access journal eLife, scientists at the John Innes Centre show that plants make precise adjustments to their rate of starch consumption. These adjustments ensure that the starch store lasts until dawn even if the night comes unexpectedly early or the size of the starch store varies.

The John Innes Centre scientists show that to adjust their starch consumption so precisely they must be performing a mathematical calculation -- arithmetic division.

"The capacity to perform arithmetic calculation is vital for plant growth and productivity," said metabolic biologist Professor Alison Smith.

"Understanding how plants continue to grow in the dark could help unlock new ways to boost crop yield."

During the night, mechanisms inside the leaf measure the size of the starch store and estimate the length of time until dawn. Information about time comes from an internal clock, similar to our own body clock. The size of the starch store is then divided by the length of time until dawn to set the correct rate of starch consumption, so that, by dawn, around 95% of starch is used up.

"The calculations are precise so that plants prevent starvation but also make the most efficient use of their food," said Professor Smith.

"If the starch store is used too fast, plants will starve and stop growing during the night. If the store is used too slowly, some of it will be wasted."

The scientists used mathematical modelling to investigate how such a division calculation can be carried out inside a plant. They proposed that information about the size of the starch store and the time until dawn is encoded in the concentrations of two kinds of molecules (called S for starch and T for time). If the S molecules stimulate starch consumption, while the T molecules prevent this from happening, then the rate of starch consumption is set by the ratio of S molecules to T molecules, in other words S divided by T.

This research is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/qb4963q8I7k/130624093524.htm

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Prosecutors want to admit calls in Zimmerman trial

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? Past police dispatcher calls in which George Zimmerman complained about "suspicious" characters in his neighborhood should be presented to jurors at his second-degree murder trial since they show his state of mind and provide context to his fatal encounter with 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a prosecutor argued Tuesday.

Prosecutor Richard Mantei told a Florida judge the five calls are central to the prosecution's argument that Zimmerman committed second-degree murder since it shows his growing ill will at people he viewed as suspicious who were walking through his neighborhood. In each of the calls, which were played for Judge Debra Nelson with the jurors out of the courtroom, Zimmerman described the suspicious characters as black males.

The calls made in the six months before Zimmerman fatally shot Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, reflect the neighborhood watch volunteer's growing frustration with repeated break-ins at his gated community of townhomes and plays into the prosecution's theory that his view of Martin as a suspicious character was "the straw that broke the camel's back," Mantei said.

Defense attorney Mark O'Mara argued that the calls were irrelevant and that no previous incidents matter except the seven or eight minutes prior to when Zimmerman fired the deadly shot into Martin's chest.

"They're going to ask the jury to make a leap from a good, responsible, citizen behavior to seething behavior," O'Mara said of the prosecution's depiction of Zimmerman's actions.

Nelson said she would make a ruling after reviewing prior cases.

Prosecutors called to the stand a Sanford police sergeant who was the second officer to respond to the scene after Zimmerman fatally shot Martin. Sgt. Tony Raimondo testified that he tried to seal a bullet wound in Martin's chest with a plastic bag and attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Bubbling sounds indicated that air was escaping the teen's chest, Raimondo said.

Martin was pronounced dead a short time later.

During Raimondo's testimony, prosecutors showed jurors a photo of Martin's dead body face-down in the grass, another of Martin's body face up with his eyes slightly open and a third of the bullet wound. Martin's father, Tracy Martin, walked out of the courtroom during the testimony.

Zimmerman, 29, could get life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder for gunning down Martin as the black teenager, wearing a hoodie on a dark, rainy night, walked from a convenience store through the gated townhouse community where he was staying. Zimmerman is pleading not guilty, claiming self-defense.

The case took on racial dimensions after Martin's family claimed that Zimmerman had racially profiled the teen and that police were dragging their feet in bringing charges. Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic, has denied the confrontation had anything to do with race.

Prosecutors also called the former coordinator of the Sanford Police Department's neighborhood watch program, who testified how she had worked with Zimmerman to set up a watch program in his neighborhood, The Retreat at Twin Lakes.

When asked by prosecutor John Guy if neighborhood watch participants should either follow or engage with suspicious people, she answered "no."

"They are the eyes and ears of law enforcement," said Wendy Dorival, the Sanford Police manager. "They're not supposed to take matters into their own hands."

But Dorival said she was impressed with Zimmerman's professionalism and dedication to his community and asked him to join another program, Citizens on Patrol, which trained residents to patrol their neighborhoods. He declined.

"He seemed like he really wanted to make changes in his community, to make it better," Dorival said.

The president of Zimmerman's homeowners association also testified that Zimmerman was in charge of the neighborhood watch program started in his townhome complex. He said Zimmerman was the person who went through a class offered by Sanford police to get it started.

Donald O'Brien said he also attended a neighborhood watch meeting led by Zimmerman and it was O'Brien's understanding that participating residents "were supposed to stay away" from suspicious activity and "call the police."

"Do not get close to anybody," O'Brien said of what he understood about neighborhood watch. "Stay at a safe distance and call 911. Let the police handle it."

The prosecution began opening statements Monday in the long-awaited murder trial with shocking language, repeating obscenities Zimmerman uttered while talking to a police dispatcher moments before the deadly confrontation.

The defense opened with a knock-knock joke about the difficulty of picking a jury for a case that stirred nationwide debate over racial profiling, vigilantism and Florida's expansive laws on the use of deadly force.

Guy portrayed the then-neighborhood watch volunteer as a vigilante, saying, "Zimmerman thought it was his right to rid his neighborhood of anyone who did not belong."

Defense attorney Don West told jurors a different story: Martin sucker-punched Zimmerman and then pounded his head against the concrete sidewalk, and that's when Zimmerman opened fire.

___

Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KHightower

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/prosecutors-want-admit-calls-zimmerman-trial-083739961.html

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