Heresy! Five things 'The Bible' got wrong

Joe Alblas / AP

"The Bible" didn't always stick to its inspiration.

By Randee Dawn, TODAY contributor

?The Bible? miniseries has truly brought in divine ratings for The History Channel these past few weeks. Despite at least one major road bump (Satan appeared in a black hooded robe and was promptly compared to President Barack Obama), the episodes -- which selectively feature certain stories in both the Old and New Testaments -- have been well received by millions of viewers every week. But as the series comes to a close Sunday, it?s worth asking ? just how accurate was the series, in the end?

Telling the story of The Bible is a tricky business, said biblical scholar Dr. Peter E. Enns, who teaches Bible Studies at Pennsylvania?s Eastern University. But it was clear, he notes, that series creators Mark Burnett and Roma Downey had an agenda ? and that every episode they told had one goal: To get to the climax of Jesus?s life and death.

??They were focusing on the final stage of the Bible story, which is Christ?s appearance,? he said. ?It?s all a buildup to that. They take a celebrity approach to The Bible, and highlight the figures people know and present them in ways that make it seem that when you get to Jesus, you?ll feel that this was how it was meant to be all along.?

That can lead to some problems with the series; for Enns, there were some clear issues with ?The Bible."

Telling Samson?s story
Samson is a ?minor character in the Bible,? said Enns, but gets a lot of screen time in the series. Why? He?s a precursor to Christ, said Enns: He gave his life for the community, is unjustly treated, chained and blinded. ?We?re seeing Jesus in preview form,? he said.

Joe Albas / A&E Television Network

Samson's major role in the series is probably because of his similarities to Christ.

Ninja angels
Jesus again got a preview in the scene where three visitors meet Abraham on their way to destroying the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. ?In the Bible, these three figures are clearly angelic divine figures, but it?s ambiguous,? said Enns. Instead, since one is referred to as ?Lord,? the miniseries transformed him into a proto-Jesus, never clearly seen in the show, but highlighted as Christ. ?In the Old Testament, that?s completely out of bounds,? said Enns. The other two angels are also problematic: ?When the two angels in true ninja fashion take out swords and start swing-kicking, that?s a gratuitous moment.?

Joe Albas / A&E Television Network

The Warrior Angel could have doubled as a ninja.

Sarah wants to save her son
Sarah running after her husband Abraham and son Isaac as Abraham takes him to be sacrificed to God was ?stupid,? said Enns. ?It?s what a mother would do, but Sarah is nowhere to be found in that sequence. They turn the scene into an ?I want to save my boy!? moment rather than a test of faith.?

Joe Alblas / A&E Television Network

Sarah's role in Abraham's aborted sacrifice of Isaac is extended in the miniseries.

Too many Caucasians
Arguably, ?The Bible? was more multicultural than many versions have been in the past. But in 2013, the portrayal of characters with Scottish and British accents and clear European looks was just wrong, said Enns. ?You have Mary who looks like someone you?d bump into at the water cooler and she speaks wonderful American English," he said. "It does not do justice to the foreignness of the story.?

Joe Alblas / A&E Television Network

Mary, seen here with Joseph, looked too all-American, said a biblical scholar.

Sympathy for the Devil
While not precisely an inaccuracy, Enns gave a thumbs-down to the image of Satan and the resemblance to the president ? a comparison he made after watching the episode. ?What I thought was if the resemblance was not intentional, someone should have pointed it out,? he said. ?It was a very unwise decision to leave it there like that. So many people noticed it immediately that it makes it hard to imagine no one on set did.?

All of that said Enns knows that retelling The Bible is a tricky business. ?It?s impossible to please everybody with a show like this,? he said. ?You talk about God, you?re going to make enemies, especially with the sacred book.?

The series finale of "The Bible" airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on The History Channel.

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Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2013/03/27/17492225-heresy-five-things-the-bible-got-wrong?lite

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Link between faster 'biological' aging and risk of developing age-related diseases

Mar. 27, 2013 ? An international team of scientists led by the University of Leicester has found new evidence that links faster 'biological' ageing to the risk of developing several age-related diseases -- including heart disease, multiple sclerosis and various cancers.

The study involved scientists in 14 centres across 8 countries, working as part of the ENGAGE Consortium (list of research teams is give below). The research is published online today (27^th March) in the journal Nature Genetics.

The project studied a feature of chromosomes called telomeres. Telomeres sit on the end of our chromosomes -- the strands of DNA stored in the nucleus of cells. The telomeres shorten each time a cell divides to make new cells, until they reach a critical short length and the cells enter an inactive state and then die. Therefore telomeres shorten as an individual gets older. But, individuals are born with different telomere lengths and the rate at which they subsequently shorten can also vary. The speed with which telomeres wear down is a measure of 'biological ageing'.

Professor Nilesh Samani, British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiology at the University of Leicester and Director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Leicester Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit, who led the project said: "Although heart disease and cancers are more common as one gets older, not everyone gets them -- and some people get them at an earlier age. It has been suspected that the occurrence of these diseases may in part be related to some people "biologically" ageing more quickly than others."

The research team measured telomere lengths in over 48,000 individuals and looked at their DNA and identified seven genetic variants that were associated with telomere length. They then asked the question whether these genetic variants also affected risk of various diseases. As DNA cannot be changed by lifestyle or environmental factors, an association of these genetic variants which affect telomere length with a disease also would suggest a causal link between telomere length and that disease.

The scientists found that the variants were indeed linked to risk of several types of cancers including colorectal cancer as well as diseases like multiple sclerosis and celiac disease. Most interestingly, the authors found that in aggregate the seven variants also associated with risk of coronary artery disease which can lead to heart attacks.

Professor Samani added: "These are really exciting findings. We had previous evidence that shorter telomere lengths are associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease but were not sure whether this association was causal or not. This research strongly suggests that biological ageing plays an important role in causing coronary artery disease, the commonest cause of death in the world. This provides a novel way of looking at the disease and at least partly explains why some patients develop it early and others don't develop it at all even if they carry other risk factors."

Dr Veryan Codd, Senior Research Associate at the University of Leicester who co-ordinated the study and carried out the majority of the telomere length measurements said: "The findings open of the possibility that manipulating telomere length could have health benefits. While there is a long way to go before any clinical application, there are data in experimental models where lengthening telomere length has been shown to retard and in some situations reverse age-related changes in several organs."

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Journal Reference:

1. Veryan Codd, Christopher P Nelson, Eva Albrecht, Massimo Mangino, Joris Deelen, Jessica L Buxton, Jouke Jan Hottenga, Krista Fischer, T?nu Esko, Ida Surakka, Linda Broer, Dale R Nyholt, Irene Mateo Leach, Perttu Salo, Sara H?gg, Mary K Matthews, Jutta Palmen, Giuseppe D Norata, Paul F O'Reilly, Danish Saleheen, Najaf Amin, Anthony J Balmforth, Marian Beekman, Rudolf A de Boer, Stefan B?hringer, Peter S Braund, Paul R Burton, Anton J Mde Craen, Matthew Denniff, Yanbin Dong, Konstantinos Douroudis, Elena Dubinina, Johan G Eriksson, Katia Garlaschelli, Dehuang Guo, Anna-Liisa Hartikainen, Anjali K Henders, Jeanine J Houwing-Duistermaat, Laura Kananen, Lennart C Karssen, Johannes Kettunen, Norman Klopp, Vasiliki Lagou, Elisabeth M van Leeuwen, Pamela A Madden, Reedik M?gi, Patrik K E Magnusson, Satu M?nnist?, Mark I McCarthy, Sarah E Medland, Evelin Mihailov, Grant W Montgomery, Ben A Oostra, Aarno Palotie, Annette Peters, Helen Pollard, Anneli Pouta, Inga Prokopenko, Samuli Ripatti, Veikko Salomaa, H Eka D Suchiman, Ana M Valdes, Niek Verweij, Ana Vi?uela, Xiaoling Wang, H-Erich Wichmann, Elisabeth Widen, Gonneke Willemsen, Margaret J Wright, Kai Xia, Xiangjun Xiao, Dirk J van Veldhuisen, Alberico L Catapano, Martin D Tobin, Alistair S Hall, Alexandra I F Blakemore, Wiek H van Gilst, Haidong Zhu, CARDIoGRAM consortium, Jeanette Erdmann, Muredach P Reilly, Sekar Kathiresan, Heribert Schunkert, Philippa J Talmud, Nancy L Pedersen, Markus Perola, Willem Ouwehand, Jaakko Kaprio, Nicholas G Martin, Cornelia M van Duijn, Iiris Hovatta, Christian Gieger, Andres Metspalu, Dorret I Boomsma, Marjo-Riitta Jarvelin, P Eline Slagboom, John R Thompson, Tim D Spector, Pim van der Harst, Nilesh J Samani. Identification of seven loci affecting mean telomere length and their association with disease. Nature Genetics, 2013; 45 (4): 422 DOI: 10.1038/ng.2528

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/top_news/top_science/~3/i6UmrgokBGg/130327133339.htm

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Study Links Early Baldness to Prostate Cancer in African Americans (Voice Of America)

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America: Time to shake the salt habit?

Mar. 27, 2013 ? The love affair between U.S. residents and salt is making us sick: high sodium intake increases blood pressure, and leads to higher rates of heart attack and strokes. Nonetheless, Americans continue to ingest far higher amounts of sodium than those recommended by physicians and national guidelines.

A balanced review of the relevant literature has been published in the March 27, 2013 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine. Theodore A. Kotchen, MD, professor of medicine (endocrinology), and associate dean for clinical research at the Medical College of Wisconsin, is the lead author of the article.

Dr. Kotchen cites correlations between blood pressure and salt intake in a number of different studies; typically, the causation between lowering salt intake and decreased levels of blood pressure occur in individuals who have been diagnosed with hypertension. Although not as pronounced, there is also a link between salt intake and blood pressure in non-hypertensive individuals. Additionally, recent studies have demonstrated that a reduced salt intake is associated with decreased cardiovascular disease and decreased mortality.

In national studies in Finland and Great Britain, instituting a national salt-reduction program led to decreased sodium intake. In Finland, the resulting decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressures corresponded to a 75 -- 80 percent decrease in death due to stroke and coronary heart disease.

Nevertheless, not all investigators concur with population-based recommendations to lower salt intake, and the reasons for this position are reviewed.

"Salt is essential for life, but it has been difficult to distinguish salt need from salt preference," said Dr. Kotchen. "Given the medical evidence, it seems that recommendations for reducing levels of salt consumption in the general population would be justifiable at this time." However, in terms of safety, the lower limit of salt consumption has not been clearly identified. In certain patient groups, less rigorous targets for salt reduction may be appropriate.

Co-authors are Allen W. Cowley, Jr., PhD, James J. Smith and Catherine Welsh Smith Professor in Physiology, and Harry and Gertrude Hack Term Professor and chairman of Physiology, the Medical College of Wisconsin; Edward D. Frohlich, MD, Alton Ocshner Distinguished Scientist at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, La.

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Journal Reference:

1. Theodore A. Kotchen, Allen W. Cowley, Edward D. Frohlich. Salt in Health and Disease ? A Delicate Balance. New England Journal of Medicine, 2013; 368 (13): 1229 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1212606

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/top_news/top_health/~3/xgaeOmcfU_o/130328091752.htm

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Unicorn Apocalypse Is Real And It Sucks

Unicorn Apocalypse, the mobile game Samsung promoted in its TV ads that began airing at the beginning of the year, isn't fictional after all - it's a real, playable game live now in the Google Play app store. Generally speaking, the Samsung ads, designed by an agency called 72andSunny,?were both relevant and memorable - they even?featured cameos from Tim Burton, Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd at times.

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

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House votes to prevent March 27 federal shutdown

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, leaves the chamber after Republicans passed legislation through the House to ease the impact of $85 billion in short-term cuts and prevent a government shutdown later this month, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, leaves the chamber after Republicans passed legislation through the House to ease the impact of $85 billion in short-term cuts and prevent a government shutdown later this month, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., waves as he finishes a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2013. Graham and a small group of GOP senators have been invited to dinner by President Barack Obama Wednesday night to address political gridlock. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2012 file photo, House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. walks on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Republicans assert their budget priorities, working to give the Pentagon some flexibility on automatic budget cuts while previewing a plan to eliminate deficits in a decade. President Barack Obama launches something of a charm offensive to sway skeptical Republicans. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 14, 2013 file photo, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky. testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Republicans assert their budget priorities, working to give the Pentagon some flexibility on automatic budget cuts while previewing a plan to eliminate deficits in a decade. President Barack Obama launches something of a charm offensive to sway skeptical Republicans. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republicans pushed legislation through the House on Wednesday to prevent a government shutdown this month while easing the short-term impact of $85 billion in spending cuts ? at the same time previewing a longer-term plan to erase federal deficits without raising taxes.

President Barack Obama pursued a different path as the GOP asserted its budget priorities. He hosted a dinner with a dozen Republican senators at a hotel near the White House in search of bipartisan support for a deficit-cutting approach that includes the higher taxes he seeks as well as savings from Medicare and other benefit programs that they stress. The Republican leaders of the House and Senate did not participate.

Any such compromise talks were unlikely to yield fruit for months, if then, although Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the author of the House Republican budget plan, expressed hope that some progress across party lines might be possible later in the year.

"I think this whole thing will come to a crescendo this summer, and we're going to have to talk to each other to get an agreement about how to delay a debt crisis, how to save this country from a fiscal train wreck that's coming," said Ryan, who was the Republicans' vice presidential candidate last year. He added that he had spoken with Obama in recent days, but he declined to provide details.

For now, the divided government's immediate objectives are to prevent a shutdown of federal agencies on March 27, at the same time lawmakers and the White House look for ways to ease the impact of across-the-board spending cuts that kicked in less than a week ago.

The legislation that cleared the House on a bipartisan vote of 267-151 would do both, ensuring funding through the Sept. 30 end of the budget year while granting the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs greater flexibility in implementing their share of short-term spending cuts.

"This is all about whether or not we shut down the government. This is a bill to keep the government operating," said Rep. Hal Rogers, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Appropriations Committee.

Minority Democrats appeared torn between a desire to support legislation to keep the government open and their goal of replacing at least half of the spending cuts with provisions to increase revenue.

"Instead of closing tax loopholes for corporate jets, they want to cut 4 million meals on wheels," the party's House leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, said of Republicans.

The bill passed with the support of 53 Democrats, more than a quarter of those voting.

It now goes to the Senate, where Democrats and the White House are deep in negotiations with Republicans on changes that would give the Department of Homeland Security and other domestic agencies the same type of flexibility in administering the spending cuts that the Pentagon would receive.

Obama's two-hour dinner with Senate Republicans stemmed from a suggestion he made during a conversation recently with GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, according to a presidential aide. It also served as prelude to at least two trips to the Capitol in coming days as the chief executive meets with the rank and file of both parties in both houses.

Obama had a good exchange of ideas with lawmakers, a White House official said after the dinner. Sen. John McCain, who was among Obama's guests, told a reporter that the meal went "just fine."

The spending legislation was still pending on the House floor when Ryan began pulling back the curtain on his plan to eliminate deficits in 10 years. The government ran a deficit of more than $1 trillion for the past budget year, about $200 billion less than the year before, and the total federal debt is about $16 trillion.

To achieve his 10-year goal of producing a surplus, Ryan said he would incorporate the tax increases on the wealthy that Congress passed on Jan. 1 over the objections of many House Republicans. The hike translates into an estimated $600 billion or more in additional revenue to the government.

The Wisconsin Republican also intends to retain the $85 billion in spending cuts, which translate to a savings of $900 billion or more over a decade, and renew without significant changes a controversial proposal to overhaul Medicare.

Speaking of spending in general, he said, "We're making additional modest changes to get to balance."

Ryan had earlier floated the possibility of accelerating his Medicare proposal so it would apply to individuals currently older than 55.

Under pressure from some members of the rank and file, he decided against that ? but drew criticism during the day from Democrats anyway.

"Every time they put in a budget, the first thing they do is ask seniors to sacrifice the most," said Rep. Steve Israel of New York, who heads the Democrats' campaign committee.

Ryan's Medicare plan would give future retirees a choice between enrolling in the existing program or a roster of private alternatives, although in any case they would receive a monthly check from the government to defray the cost and be responsible for the difference.

In its previous forms, the plan also capped the overall cost of the program.

Republicans say change is necessary in order to rescue Medicare from financial ruin as members of the post-World War II baby boom generation retire in large numbers. Democrats contend the plan would effectively end the guarantee of health care coverage that Medicare embodies by exposing seniors to prohibitively large cost increases.

Obama has proposed roughly $400 billion in savings over a decade from health care benefit programs, much of it from Medicare, but he has consistently rejected Ryan's approach.

Senate Democrats are drafting their own budget, expected to be made public next week. Officials have yet to say how large a deficit it envisions in a decade, but it will differ in significant ways from the Republican approach.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the Budget Committee chairman, has said she will replace the across-the-board cuts with a blend of spending reductions and tax increase, an approach Obama favors.

Other Democrats say she will follow Obama's lead on Medicare, setting up a contrast with Republicans that her party hopes to exploit in the 2014 elections.

Obama's own budget has been delayed repeatedly this year, and it is not clear if he intends to release it before the House and Senate hold their debates this month.

If the administration waits until April, it could avoid certain embarrassment at the hands of Republicans. It is a ritual of budget politics for the party out of power in the White House to demand a vote on the president's budget, knowing it will fail, sometimes ignominiously.

___

Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor and Julie Pace contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-06-Budget%20Battle/id-ee051ad6a4ee4fd3bdcd94c441e025b7

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Korean Startup Accelerator SparkLabs Hosts Its First Demo Day, Adds Tom Peters To Advisory Board

Korean startup accelerator SparkLabs hosted its first Demo Day in Seoul today with five of the six companies in the inagural class it revealed back in November (one company, online gaming studio Merrywind, is developing a game that is currently in stealth mode, so it did not present today). SparkLabs also announced that it will expand into healthcare with its second round of startups, in addition to its ongoing focus on the online gaming, mobile, e-commerce, and digital media sectors.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/BwSl2gPJA2o/

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Obesity makes fat cells act like they're infected

Mar. 5, 2013 ? The inflammation of fat tissue is part of a spiraling series of events that leads to the development of type 2 diabetes in some obese people. But researchers have not understood what triggers the inflammation, or why.

In Cell Metabolism this month (cover), scientists from The Methodist Hospital report fat cells themselves are at least partly to blame -- high calorie diets cause the cells to make major histocompatibility complex II, a group of proteins usually expressed to help the immune system fight off viruses and bacteria. In overweight mice and humans the fat cells, or adipocytes, are issuing false distress signals -- they are not under attack by pathogens. But this still sends local immune cells into a tizzy, and that causes inflammation.

"We did not know fat cells could instigate the inflammatory response," said principal investigator and Methodist Diabetes & Metabolism Institute Director Willa Hsueh, M.D. "That's because for a very long time we thought these cells did little else besides store and release energy. But what we have learned is that adipocytes don't just rely on local resident immune cells for protection -- they play a very active role in their own defense. And that's not always a good thing."

In pinpointing major histocompatibility complex II (MHCII) as a cause of inflammation, the researchers may have also identified a new drug target for the treatment of obesity. Blocking the MHCII response of adipocytes wouldn't cure obesity, Hsueh said, "but it could make it possible for doctors to alleviate some of obesity's worst consequences while the condition itself is treated."

Could the inflammation caused by a high fat diet serve any purpose, or is it a senseless response to an unnaturally caloric diet?

"The expression of MHCII in adipocytes does not seem to be helpful to the body," said co-lead author Christopher Lyon, Ph.D. "It is not at all clear what the advantage would be, given all the negative long-term consequences of fat tissue inflammation in people who are obese, including insulin resistance and, eventually, full diabetes. This just appears to be a runaway immune response to a modern high calorie diet."

Hsueh added, "The bottom line is, you're feeding and feeding these fat cells and they're turning around and biting you back. They're doing the thing they're supposed to do -- storing energy -- but reacting negatively to too much of it."

The scientists studied fat cells from obese, female humans (via biopsy) and overfed male mice. The researchers said that while they expect similar MHCII expression to occur in overweight male humans and female mice, further studies are needed to establish this.

The immunology of adipocyte inflammation is complex. It begins with the import of excess nutrients from the bloodstream, which are converted and stored as fat and stimulate the production of the hormone leptin. Excess leptin, spurred by a high calorie diet, excites CD4 T cells to produce a second signaling molecule, interferon gamma, which causes adipocytes to produce MHCII. This dialogue between adipocytes and T cells appears to initiate the inflammatory response to high fat diet -- Hsueh and her group found that overfed mice lacking MHCII experienced less inflammation.

Interferon gamma from T cells exacerbates the inflamed adipocytes' behavior and causes another type of immune cell, M2 macrophages, to be converted to their pro-inflammatory (M1) version.

"It was known that macrophages and T cells are major players," said lead author Tuo Deng, Ph.D. "But no one knew what the start signals were to ignite inflammation."

RNA was extracted from adipocytes purified from fat tissue biopsies and subjected to microarray analysis, which allowed the researchers to see what genes were increased in overweight subjects. The researchers found high expression of most MHCII complex and MHCII antigen processing genes. Similar gene expression patterns were observed in mice within two weeks of starting a high-fat diet, and this mirrored pro-inflammatory changes in fat tissue CD4 T cells. Hsueh says her group plans to investigate whether the inflammatory response in overfed mice can be blocked when MHCII expression is specifically reduced in adipocytes.

Hsueh says that if she and her group can identify the antigen(s) that MHCII is presenting to T cells in fat tissue, medical researchers would have a new approach to target adipose inflammation in obese patients. The hypothesis is that if a treatment can interfere with the production or MHCII presentation of these antigens, this would reduce the activation of fat tissue immune cells and thus reduce inflammation. Determining the MHCII antigen(s) involved in the inflammatory response of fat tissue to weight gain is one of her group's next goals, she says.

Also contributing to the Cell Metabolism paper were Laurie Minze, Jianxin Lin, Jia Zou, Joey Liu, Yuelan Ren, Zheng Yin, Dale Hamilton, Patrick Reardon, Vadim Sherman, Helen Wang, Kevin J. Phillips, Paul Webb, Stephen Wong, and Rong-fu Wang. The project was supported by grants from the John T. MacDonald Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the American Diabetes Association.

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Journal Reference:

1. Tuo Deng, Christopher J. Lyon, Laurie J. Minze, Jianxin Lin, Jia Zou, Joey Z. Liu, Yuelan Ren, Zheng Yin, Dale J. Hamilton, Patrick R. Reardon, Vadim Sherman, Helen Y. Wang, Kevin J. Phillips, Paul Webb, Stephen T.C. Wong, Rong-fu Wang, Willa A. Hsueh. Class II Major Histocompatibility Complex Plays an Essential Role in Obesity-Induced Adipose Inflammation. Cell Metabolism, Volume 17, Issue 3, 5 March 2013, Pages 411-422 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2013.02.009

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/top_news/top_health/~3/tb0l9gqFxes/130305145145.htm

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World News Brief, Wednesday March 6 | Pundit

National People's Congress meeting begins in China; Malaysia launches attack in Borneo; Syrian rebels take over Raqqa; Italy considers technocrat government; and more

Top of the Agenda: China Kicks Off National People's Congress Meeting

Premier Wen Jiabao gave his outgoing address (AP) at China's annual National People's Congress meeting, the rubber-stamped parliamentary session where major policies and key government officials are announced. Wen pledged to repair the environment and boost public services under its new leadership, and notably pared the nation's economic growth target to 7.5 percent (Bloomberg) from an 8 percent goal in place since 2005--a sign that leaders could be aiming to cut reliance on exports and capital spending in favor of consumption. China also reached a tentative deal with the United States on a new set of sanctions against North Korea in response to its third nuclear test last month. The resolution (WSJ), which will enforce some existing sanctions and include new ones, will be introduced at a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday.

?

Analysis

"So for China's Communist Party, this leadership change is not so much a time of celebration as of introspection and anxiety. The party is aware that in the eyes of many Chinese, its authority is eroding. And while the party leaders know the problems they face, they know too that there are few easy answers," writes a Damian Grammaticas for the BBC.

"Though it calls itself a legislature and votes on motions, the NPC has never rejected anything put before it. Notwithstanding the important work the NPC does outside of the plenary sessions, the annual meeting remains heavily stage-managed and is far from shaking free of its well-deserved label as a rubber-stamp," writes the Economist.

"The NPC will confirm a new leadership that has already made promises of a more sustainable, less damaged China. The outgoing government started off with such promises too, and public disappointment over its failure to make good on them is at dangerously high levels. If this cycle of disillusionment is not to deepen, the NPC must publicly and robustly become the environment's champion, insisting on its constitutional powers and offering the public a convincing political response to their frustrations," writes Isabel Hilton for the South China Morning Post.

?

PACIFIC RIM

Malaysia Launches Attack in Borneo

Malaysia launched an offensive (NYT) in Borneo on Tuesday in a bid to end a month-long siege by armed Filipinos seeking to reclaim part of the island. Air strikes and a ground assault killed an undetermined number of Filipino gunmen but caused no Malaysian casualties.

?

ELSEWHERE:

Syrian rebels capture Raqqa

Italy considers technocrat government

This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.

Source: http://pundit.co.nz/content/world-news-brief-wednesday-march-6

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Heat rally past Knicks, win 14th straight

New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) dunks in front of Miami Heat center Chris Bosh (1) during the first half of their NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, March 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) dunks in front of Miami Heat center Chris Bosh (1) during the first half of their NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, March 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) falls into the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game against The New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, March 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives against Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem (40) during the first half of their NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, March 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) drives against New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) during the first half of their NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, March 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem, right, holds New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, center, as Heat center Chris Bosh (1) tries to block Anthony's shot during the first half of their an basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, March 3, 2013. A foul was called on Haslem. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

NEW YORK (AP) ? LeBron James stretched his arm above the rim, soaring high on a shaky knee and turning his steal into a finishing dunk as Carmelo Anthony hung his head near midcourt.

The Heat took the Knicks' best shot, but it wasn't good enough to beat the defending champs.

Nothing is right now.

James had 29 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, and Miami tied a franchise record with its 14th straight victory, rallying for a 99-93 victory at New York on Sunday.

"We feel like this is one of our better wins of the season, even under the circumstances that we went through tonight, a little adversity being down double digits," James said.

Dwyane Wade added 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Heat, who had to overcome a 16-point deficit to beat the Knicks for the first time in three tries this season. Chris Bosh bounced back from a dismal first half to finish with 16 points and Shane Battier hit all four 3-point attempts to score 12.

The Heat won their sixth straight on the road by controlling the final minutes against a team that had a pair of 20-point victories over them this season and looked ready to run them out of the building again.

But James shook off a third-quarter leg injury and was back in top form by the finish, putting it away by coming up with a steal and throwing down a dunk with 23 seconds left.

"Obviously, it's great to win games, period. But when you're on a win streak, you've got to find many different ways to win ballgames and we've had comebacks in the last seconds, we've had double-overtime games, but this was probably the most thrilling one," Wade said. "It was the most challenging. For a team who beat us twice, they handled us twice and they were up 16 in the first half, for us to have the resilience to come back, find a way fight out this win, it was great."

Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points for the Knicks, who had won three in a row. Jason Kidd emerged from a lengthy slump to finish with 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists. J.R. Smith had 13 points and 12 rebounds, but shot 5 of 18 from the field.

"I think we are disappointed because we had an opportunity to win a ballgame here at home against the champs," Kidd said. "So it's something we can look at and get better at with those mistakes, especially later in the game."

The Heat matched their 14 straight wins during the 2004-05 season and finally beat one of their closest pursuers in the Eastern Conference after dropping their first four against the Knicks and Indiana Pacers.

James landed awkwardly when he was fouled trying to catch a lob pass in the third quarter and was trying afterward to loosen his left knee or leg. He looked fine in the closing minutes, making key plays on both ends of the floor.

"His motor is limitless. I don't want to take that for granted. I don't just want to assume that he can play 40-plus minutes, but he had to do it on both ends," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Couldn't get him out in the fourth quarter and if I would have tried, he probably would have strangled me.

"He was strong and was at his strongest after 40 minutes of basketball."

Bosh tied it at 87 and Wade's basket with 4:29 left gave Miami the lead for good. James then blocked Tyson Chandler at the rim and hustled down the floor to put back a Miami miss, making it 91-87.

The Knicks twice were within two, but James scored on a drive the second time. Bosh followed with a jumper for a 97-91 advantage, and after two free throws by Raymond Felton, James ended the Knicks' final hopes when he stepped in front of a pass headed toward Anthony and broke in alone for the slam.

"They kind of walked us down towards the end," Anthony said. "We made some mistakes, turned the ball over, and then that turnover was probably just the icing on the cake right there."

James said he felt the knee a little bit during the game, but expected to be in uniform Monday at Minnesota.

The Knicks beat Miami here by 20 in their season opener and won again in Miami in early December by 20, even while playing without Anthony because of a cut on his finger that required stitches.

This looked headed for another blowout.

Kidd missed his 14 3-point attempts in the last three games and had been in a 7-for-49 slump behind the arc since Feb. 1, finally losing his starting job before Friday's victory at Washington.

But he made a 3 early in the second quarter, then hit three more in the period. The Knicks rattled off eight points in a row to make it 59-43, their only concern coming when Anthony went to the locker room before the half ended with what the team said was pain in his ribs. He was back when the second half started and said the injury didn't bother him.

The Knicks' two victories over the Heat came during their 18-5 start, when they seemed championship capable. But they are just 17-16 since, and Miami's a far different team now than it was in December.

Bosh had eight quick points in the third quarter after a two-point, 1-of-6 first half. Miami scored the last six of the period, cutting it to 77-73 on Battier's 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds to go.

Miami finally caught up at 79-all when James nailed his second straight 3-pointer, stomping his feet forcefully as he walked away following the second with 10:04 to play.

NOTES: Juwan Howard was inactive, a day after the Heat re-signed the 40-year-old forward who finished last season with them. "To be honest, it felt a little bit strange not having him with us," Spoelstra said. "It makes sense, it feels right." ... Knicks coach Mike Woodson said forward Kenyon Martin will be with the Knicks beyond the expiration of his first 10-day contract.

___

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-03-Heat-Knicks/id-a1c08d5e714c4ae79360892fe69de24f

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Cardinals begin pre-conclave meetings amid scandal

Vatican Swiss guards salute as cardinals arrive for a meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, March 4, 2013. Cardinals from around the world have gathered inside the Vatican for their first round of meetings before the conclave to elect the next pope, amid scandals inside and out of the Vatican and the continued reverberations of Benedict XVI's decision to retire. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Vatican Swiss guards salute as cardinals arrive for a meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, March 4, 2013. Cardinals from around the world have gathered inside the Vatican for their first round of meetings before the conclave to elect the next pope, amid scandals inside and out of the Vatican and the continued reverberations of Benedict XVI's decision to retire. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Vatican Swiss guards salute as a cardinal arrives for a meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, March 4, 2013. Cardinals from around the world have gathered inside the Vatican for their first round of meetings before the conclave to elect the next pope, amid scandals inside and out of the Vatican and the continued reverberations of Benedict XVI's decision to retire. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Cardinals from around the world gathered Monday inside the Vatican for their first round of meetings before the conclave to elect the next pope, amid scandals inside and out of the Vatican and the continued reverberations of Benedict XVI's decision to retire.

Cardinals were treated like rock stars as they entered the Vatican on Monday morning, with television crews swarming around the red-capped churchmen and their handlers pushing their way through the crowds.

"A Latin American Pope is possible, everything is possible!" said Portuguese Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins as he entered.

The core agenda item is to set the date for the conclave and set in place procedures to prepare for it, including closing the Sistine Chapel to visitors and getting the Vatican hotel cleared out and de-bugged, lest anyone try to listen in on the secret conversations of the cardinals.

But a date may not be agreed upon Monday as the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, has said the date won't be finalized until all cardinals have arrived in Rome.

The first day of discussion was again rocked by revelations of scandal, with Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien admitting that he had engaged in sexual misconduct not befitting a priest, archbishop or cardinal.

O'Brien last week resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh and said he wouldn't participate in the conclave after four men came forward with allegations that he had acted inappropriately with them ? the first time a cardinal has stayed away from a conclave because of personal scandal.

Separately, the Vatican is still reeling from the fallout of the scandal over leaked papal documents, and the investigation by three cardinals into who was behind it.

Italian news reports have been rife with unsourced reports about the contents of the cardinals' dossier. Even if the reports are false, as the Vatican maintains, the leaks themselves confirmed a fairly high level of dysfunction within the Vatican bureaucracy, with intrigues, turf battles and allegations of corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the highest levels of the church hierarchy.

In one of his last audiences before resigning, Benedict met with the three cardinals who prepared the report and decided that their dossier would remain secret. But he gave them the go-ahead to answer cardinals' questions about its contents.

Another topic facing the cardinals is the reason they're here in the first place: Benedict's resignation and its implications. His decision to end 600 years of tradition and retire rather than stay on the job until death has completely altered the concept of the papacy, and cardinals haven't shied from weighing in about the implications for the next pope.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-04-Vatican-Pope/id-e131f97c0b5f437baaa29562fb4160b2

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Zain to offload stake in Iraqi unit through IPO

DUBAI/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Kuwait telecom operator Zain may be the sole seller in its Iraqi unit's IPO which could substantially cut its stake while maintaining its majority control.

Zain Iraq must float a quarter of its shares and list on the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) as part of its $1.25 billion licence, as were Iraq's two other national operators.

The company expects to finalize details of the initial public offering by the end of June, Wael Ghanayem, Zain Iraq's chief financial and operating officer told Reuters in an emailed response to questions.

If the IPO is fully subscribed, Zain's stake in Iraq's No.1 operator and one of its key subsidiaries could fall to 51 percent from 76 percent. It was not clear if Zain Iraq plans to sell more than 25 percent in the IPO.

The share sale may be Iraq's largest ever, topping No.2 operator Asiacell's $1.27 billion floatation earlier in February, with the proceeds likely to be used to improve Zain Iraq's network or repatriated back to Kuwait.

Aside from Zain's stake, the remaining 24 percent of Zain Iraq is held by "strategic Iraqi investors", according to a statement from Zain.

Separately, Ghanayem said a foreign shareholder will be the seller in the IPO "rather than the existing Iraqi shareholder"

When asked if Zain was indeed the sole seller, Zain was non-committal.

"Zain is actively working on its offer structure which will be subject to approval of all relevant stakeholders," the company said in a statement. "The IPO will, in theory, reduce Zain Group's overall equity in Zain Iraq."

The subsidiary reported a 6 percent rise in net profit in 2012 to $369 million and accounts for more than a third of group revenue.

NBK Capital, a unit of National Bank of Kuwait , BNP Paribas and Citigroup Inc are advising Zain Iraq on the planned float.

The telco would not comment on what will happen to the IPO proceeds, but analysts say they could be retained in Iraq.

"Zain typically lets its country units run on a stand-alone basis," said Abhinav Purohit, an analyst at IDC in Dubai.

"There's talk of new spectrum being sold in Iraq to allow for 3G services and Zain could use some of the IPO income for network upgrades."

Zain, Asiacell and third operator Korek, a France Telecom affiliate, have nationwide licences but each has a regional stronghold where a core of subscribers is located.

For Zain, this is the central and southern areas of Iraq, so it may seek to boost its presence in under-served areas such as Kurdistan, which is Asiacell's heartland.

Alternatively, Zain could bring the money back to Kuwait to boost its dividends as it did when it sold some African assets in 2010.

The would be welcomed by the Kharafi family, one of the largest shareholders in Zain and a major family conglomerate in Kuwait which is heavily leveraged.

It previously tried sell a controlling stake in Zain to Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates for $12 billion.

(Editing by Dinesh Nair and David Cowell)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zain-offload-stake-iraqi-unit-ipo-100858145--sector.html

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