Clone a woolly mammoth? Not so fast!

Hendrik Poinar, a scientist who believes he is close to cracking the woolly mammoth's genetic code, says that cloning extinct species is now possible. NBC's Jim Maceda reports.

By Alan Boyle

Reports from Japan?suggest that long-extinct woolly mammoths could be cloned back into existence within five years, but don't hold your breath.

"C'mon, it'll never happen. Not in my lifetime," said Webb Miller, a Penn State computer scientist and?genomicist?who?helped decipher the genetic code of a woolly mammoth.

Japanese and Russian researchers have been working for years to find a suitable woolly mammoth specimen in?the Siberian permafrost, and they recently?told Japan's Kyodo news service that they recovered what they hope will be viable bone marrow from a frozen thigh bone recovered?near Batagay in?eastern Russia's Sakha?Republic (a.k.a. Yakutia).

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Their plan is to take the nuclei from bone marrow cells, transplant them into?egg cells extracted from elephants,?and implant the cloned embryos?into the wombs of mama elephants for gestation. This is the technique that has given rise to cloned?mammals ranging from?Dolly the sheep to pigs, cats, dogs and monkeys.

Kyodo's report says "there is a high likelihood" that biologically active nuclei can be extracted from the frozen marrow. Researchers on the case include Russian experts?from Yakutsk's Mammoth Museum and Japanese biologists from Kinki University in Osaka Prefecture. Kyodo said a full-fledged joint research project would be launched next year.

Woolly mammoths haven't walked the earth for thousands of years, but the idea of resurrecting the species seems to have a powerful hold on the collective psyche. Some folks have even talked about setting aside a "Pleistocene Park" for mammoths and other Ice Age animals.

Miller, however, isn't buying it.

"DNA from a woolly mammoth is a mess," he explained. "It's fractured into very short pieces, and there's a lot of postmortem DNA damage other than just breakage. The code gets damaged a lot."

Even if the DNA is intact and the nuclei are successfully merged with elephant egg cells, the success rate for cloning animals ? and particularly extinct and near-extinct species ? is not good. Generally speaking, there are scores of failures for each successful pregnancy brought to term.

A couple of years ago, scientists succeeded in producing?a Pyrenean ibex from tissue that was taken from the last representative of the subspecies in 1999, but the cloned progeny survived for only seven minutes. Attempts to clone an Asian gaur didn't end much better. Australian researchers had to scrap plans to clone the Tasmanian tiger back from extinction, although they later succeeded in transferring part of a Tasmanian tiger gene into mouse embryos.

These cases?suggest that there's not much of a chance of?re-creating?the mammoths.?Genetic engineering may eventually produce a "hairy elephant" with mammoth-like characteristics. But a creature genetically identical to the behemoths of the Ice Age? "If somebody does that, I will eat my hat," Miller said. "And I'll wonder why they did it."

Miller said studying the DNA of long-extinct species has value, even if the efforts don't result in a resurrection.

"I'm looking out my window, and 13,000 years ago, there were some really interesting animals out there," he mused. "They're gone now, and I'd like to know why. ... Understanding which species survived and which ones didn't, looking at their genome and trying to figure that out, that's interesting to me."

But when it comes to living, breathing animals, "I'm personally more interested in keeping the species we have," Miller said. "I'd like to keep tigers around for a while."

Despite Miller's qualms, the quest to re-create the woolly mammoth could well continue for the next five years or longer. And that's not all. Paleontologist Jack Horner is moving ahead with his plan to modify chicken DNA?and make the barnyard birds look more like the dinosaurs they descended from. Dino-chickens vs. woolly mammephants? That sounds like?a great?plot for the next "Jurassic Park" sequel. ...?

More about mammoths:

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Source: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/06/9254548-clone-a-mammoth-not-so-fast

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O'Neill gets close view of Sunderland's problems

By STUART CONDIE

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 2:10 p.m. ET Dec. 4, 2011

LONDON (AP) -Martin O'Neill got an idea of the problems he has to deal with at Sunderland when he watched his new team lose 2-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Sunday.

With Kieran Richardson having put Sunderland ahead shortly after halftime, the former Celtic and Aston Villa coach watched from the stands as his club missed a chance for 2-0 when goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey saved a penalty from Sebastian Larsson.

Steven Fletcher equalized immediately from the resulting counterattack and scored again with nine minutes left to lift his team above Sunderland in the standings.

O'Neill will officially succeed the fired Steve Bruce as manager on Monday, with the side he supported as a boy just one point and one place above the bottom three.

Richardson gave Sunderland a 52nd-minute lead at the end of a stunning length-of-the-field counterattack. Nicklas Bendtner and Stephane Sessegnon combined to release Richardson in the area and the forward smashed an angled shot high into the net.

Larsson won a penalty kick when he tumbled to the ground theatrically under a challenge from Jody Craddock, although replays showed that any slight contact appeared to occur just outside the area.

Hennessey saved the kick low to his left and rolled the ball out for the 73rd-minute counter that ended with Fletcher heading in a cross by Matt Jarvis. Eight minutes later, Fletcher scored the winner with a left-foot shot from about 12 meters (yards).

"It was a superb goal they scored but the crowd stuck with us and it was a great team effort," Wolves manager Mick McCarthy said. "Wayne was brilliant. He's one of the best in the league for me. He's very young but he's proved again that he's an outstanding goalkeeper."

Wolves moved up two places to 15th, two points ahead of Sunderland. Only Blackburn, Bolton and Wigan in the relegation zone are below the Black Cats.

With all the high-flying clubs having played Saturday - partly to give Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal an extra day rest before their midweek Champions League assignments - Stoke won 1-0 at Everton in Sunday's other game.

Defender Robert Huth's first goal of the campaign - the German defender turned Dean Whitehead's 15th-minute shot into the net - meant that Stoke recorded a victory after a Europa League match for only the second time this season.

Apostolos Vellios made just his second start up front for Everton in place of Louis Saha, and his club did not pose enough of a threat in the opposition penalty area despite dominating the second half.

Stoke rose five places to eighth, two points ahead of Everton.

"It has been a great week for the club, " Stoke manager Tony Pulis said. "To get six points and to qualify for the latter stages of the Europa League is first class. We have had a dip of form, which most clubs do, and we have shown a lot of character and spirit the last week."

Leader City stayed five points ahead of United with a 5-1 win over Norwich, while United won 1-0 at Aston Villa. Chelsea won 3-0 at Newcastle, Arsenal won 4-0 at Wigan and third-place Tottenham beat Bolton 3-0.

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Man United vs. Man City again

Manchester United will meet defending champion Manchester City in the FA Cup for a second straight season after the local rivals were drawn against each other in the third round.

Season set

Major League Soccer's 2012 season will open March 10 with six games.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44131091/ns/sports-soccer/

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Egyptian election results deepen Israeli fears

A veiled Egyptian woman walks in front of symbolic coffins honoring protesters killed in recent clashes with security forces at an encampment in front of the cabinet building in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011. Islamist parties captured more than 60 percent of the vote in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections, according to partial results released Sunday. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

A veiled Egyptian woman walks in front of symbolic coffins honoring protesters killed in recent clashes with security forces at an encampment in front of the cabinet building in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011. Islamist parties captured more than 60 percent of the vote in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections, according to partial results released Sunday. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

JERUSALEM (AP) ? For Israelis, the Islamist election surge in Egypt is depressing confirmation of a deeply primal fear: An inhospitable region is becoming more hostile still.

This sentiment has been accompanied by a bittersweet sense that Israel was dismissed as alarmist when it warned months ago that the Arab Spring ? widely perceived as the doing of liberals yearning to be free ? could lead to Islamist governments.

Speaking for most people here, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called the emerging result of the first round of parliamentary voting in Egypt "very, very disturbing" and expressed concern about the fate of the landmark 1979 Egyptian Israeli peace treaty.

"We are very concerned," added Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, who has long warned that Egypt could potentially pose a threat. Speaking to The Associated Press Sunday, Steinitz expressed hope that Egypt "will not shift to some kind of Islamic tyranny."

Experts here, as elsewhere, point out that political Islam comes in varying shades of green: The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has about a 10 percent lead over the more radical Salafists and appears far less eager to impose a devout lifestyle or seek conflict.

But most Israelis appear to have little patience for such distinctions. There is a sense that moderate Islamists are pulling off something of a con, lulling opponents into complacency, projecting a seemingly benign piety to exploit a naive public's hunger for clean government after years of corrupt, despotic rule. And there is a long memory of Iran, once friendly to Israel, where secular forces including the military helped depose the Shah in 1979 only to swiftly be steamrolled by fundamentalists.

"These upheavals are a bad thing for the modern world, for Israel," said Yitzhak Sklar, a 50-year-old Jerusalem resident. "There is something in their religion that pushes them to extremism. Their religion calls for murdering anyone who opposes them."

Smadar Perry, Arab affairs writer for Israel's top selling Yediot Ahronot daily, bemoaned Islam's "coming out of the closet" in Egypt, symbolized by the "disappearance of jeans-clad youngsters in favor of (those with) long beards and eyes ablaze with fanaticism." Islamist rule in Egypt under any stripe would be "a terrifying problem," she wrote.

Some of the fears ? for example, that an Islamist-led government in Egypt would mold itself in Iran's image ? may be overblown. Iran's clerical rule is unique in the Middle East, and the Muslim Brotherhood stresses the idea of a theocracy has no place in its ideology. Instead, it says it's committed to an Egypt that is civil, democratic, modern and constitutional.

Israeli concerns about political Islam can be traced to its longstanding battle against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and more recently to 2006, when the Islamist Hamas group swept Palestinian legislative elections.

The Hamas victory triggered a process that ultimately left the militant group, considered a terrorist organization by much of the world for its suicide bombing campaigns and other violent acts, in control of the Gaza Strip. Since then, Hamas and other militants have used the territory as a launching pad for firing rockets into southern Israel.

The stakes in Egypt are much higher. Egypt is the largest and most influential Arab nation, with a U.S.-backed army that has staunchly honored a 1979 peace agreement with Israel.

The peace agreement has been a cornerstone of Israeli security policy for three decades, allowing the military to divert resources to fight foes in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank. The treaty has also been a boon for Egypt, bringing in billions in U.S. military assistance.

"We hope that any government that will be formed in Egypt will recognize the importance of the existence of the peace treaty," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech Sunday.

At the same time, he said he had ordered a speeding of the construction of a massive fence being built along Israel's long and porous border with Egypt. Netanyahu said the fence, originally envisioned to stop the inflow of African migrants into Israel, has an "additional importance, security importance" now. In August, militants entering Egypt from the Gaza Strip infiltrated that border and killed eight Israelis.

The recent Islamic election victories in Tunisia and Morocco, considered the most moderate of Arab states, along with a growing Islamic influence in post-revolution Libya, have reinforced concerns.

"What we are facing in Egypt (and) elsewhere in the Middle East is an Islamic tsunami that we in Israel, in the West, will have to cope with in coming years," said Eli Shaked, a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt.

Shaked reflected the feeling of many in Israel that electoral wins by groups that may respect majority rule, but less so individual rights, is hardly a victory for democracy. "It seems that democracy in the Middle East has never been so far away as it is now," he said.

Israeli diplomats have cautioned against jumping to conclusions, noting that the final result in the elections for the Egyptian parliament's lower house won't be known until all stages of voting are completed in January and that presidential elections are next summer.

Yitzhak Levanon, who retired as Israel's ambassador to Egypt just last week, said officials in Cairo are well aware of the value of the peace agreement with Israel.

"There is great awareness of the importance of relations between Israel and Egypt," he told Israel Radio. "But Egypt is undergoing transformation. ... We have to monitor what's going on closely and be on guard."

He predicted tensions in the coming months between the military, parliament and a new president over division of powers. That tension and negotiations to form a majority coalition in the legislature could also limit the aims of more radical parties.

Others assess that taking on Israel cannot possibly be at the forefront of any group in an Egypt that is struggling with a desperate economic crisis. Indeed, the Brotherhood has said its priorities were to fix Egypt's economy and improve the lives of ordinary Egyptians, "not to change (the) face of Egypt into (an) Islamic state."

The Brotherhood, while no fan of Israel, has not said it wants to end the peace deal although it feels the treaty should be reviewed. The Salafis, new to politics, have not commented publicly on it.

On the societal level the Brotherhood differs as well, not favoring the imposition of strict Muslim law, preferring instead to lead by example. Elements of the Brotherhood are also known to have good ties with the military.

An emerging debate among the Islamist groups in Egypt seems to reflect this divide.

Yet on this point too Israelis consider mainly the case of Hamas, remembering their 1980s governments which ? less experienced with Islamists ? provided the group with quiet support to undermine Fatah, which was still banned here at the time.

Hamas went on to torment Israel with suicide bombings and then win the 2006 Palestinian vote because Fatah, by then Israel's ostensible peace partner, had become corrupt and detached. Palestinian voters yearned for better government, not more religion, many observers had said. Yet within a year Hamas had expelled Fatah-led Palestinian Authority forces from Gaza and has since slowly imposed its religious tenets on the population there while building up its military force.

___

Follow Dan Perry at www.twitter.com/Perry(underscore)Dan and Josef Federman at www.twitter.com/joseffederman

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-04-ML-Israel-Egypt/id-447bbde133d4447299c8bdf8147e8a6a

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FAA chief on leave after drunken driving arrest

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Transportation Department says Federal Aviation Administration chief Randy Babbitt is on a leave of absence and his employment is being reviewed following his arrest over the weekend for drunken driving.

According to Fairfax City police, Babbitt was charged with driving while intoxicated after a patrol officer spotted him driving on the wrong side of the street and pulled him over about 10:30 p.m. Saturday in Fairfax, Va.

Babbitt, who lives in Reston, was the only occupant in the vehicle. Police said he cooperated and was released on his own recognizance.

The Department of Transportation said in a statement that the leave was taken at Babbitt's request.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-05-FAA%20Chief-Drunken%20Driving/id-407aaea7890c4b7885629f7a371d6137

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A List Of Startups Goldman Sachs Thinks Will Most Likely IPO

Very very quietly (there is almost no Google?footprint), investment bank and securities firm Goldman Sachs held its "Private Internet Company Conference" this week in Las Vegas. During the two-day conference, which lasted from November 29-30th, a gaggle of companies presented their business models to an elite audience composed of bankers, investors and peers.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/5sBKkaYddSU/

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Shopycat Recommends Gifts for Your Facebook Friends [Gift Ideas]

Finding the right gift isn't always easy, but new Facebook app Shopycat can take advantage of what your friends say they like and offer up suggestions for what to buy. It's like your little elf assistant on Facebook.

Whether you're a big Facebook user or not, the app is pretty handy because of the personalized gift recommendations based on stuff your Facebook friends' "likes," status updates, and interests in their profiles. Shopycat matches those interests and likes with product catalogs from Wal-Mart (the app was developed by the big box retailer), Barnes & Noble, RedEnvelope, and other retailers.

Shopycat thought Jason Chen would like a poker video game (since he likes both poker and games), Adam Pash a laptop sleeve (because it's practical yet slick), and Whitson would like a Snuggie with a tattoo design (I seriously hope that is a Shopycat joke). I'll have to check back with them later to see if those are good gifts. For me, the app recommended the Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better book. Very astute.

Shopycat | via VentureBeat

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You can follow or contact Melanie Pinola, the author of this post, on Twitter or Google+.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/qUKKEInT6v4/shopycat-recommends-gifts-for-your-facebook-friends

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State of Michigan may step in to run Detroit (AP)

DETROIT ? The idea is extreme, even in a city accustomed to fighting for survival: Should the state of Michigan step in to run Detroit?

The governor has taken steps in that direction, proposing an unprecedented move that could give an appointed manager virtually unchecked power to gut union contracts, cut employee health insurance and slash services. But city leaders bristle at the notion. Said the mayor: "This is our city. Detroit needs to be run by Detroiters."

If it happens, Detroit would be the largest American city ever taken over by a state. Michigan has seized control of smaller struggling cities, but until now Detroit was always off-limits.

That changed this week, when Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's administration said it would begin a review of Detroit's precarious finances. If the governor concludes that the city's economic situation constitutes an emergency, he could dispatch a manager who could push the mayor and city council to the sidelines.

It's not clear how everyday services like trash pickup and bus routes would be affected, but the fixer's mission would be clear: Do whatever it takes to stop the bleeding.

Democratic Mayor Dave Bing says Detroit doesn't need the help. He insists the city is reducing a $150 million budget deficit and easing cash-flow problems on its own.

"We know what needs to be done, and we stand ready to do it," an indignant Bing said.

The financial review starts Tuesday and may last up to 90 days, meaning a takeover could be under way by the end of February.

The same fate has befallen other cities.

Atlantic City agreed in 2010 to let New Jersey take over its finances in an arrangement that allowed the city to spread a $9.5 million deficit over five years, sparing homeowners and businesses a significant property tax increase.

In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Corbett signed a law in October enabling a takeover of Harrisburg.

New York City had a brush with bankruptcy in the mid-1970s, but the rescue package put together by then-Gov. Hugh Carey stopped short of a full state takeover.

"It terms of a city, I think Detroit stands alone," said Michael LaFaive, director of fiscal policy at Michigan's Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a nonpartisan group that espouses free markets.

An emergency financial manager would have the power to privatize utility departments, as well as the bus system and other agencies. A manager also could sell off city-owned parking lots and even Belle Isle, Detroit's popular island park, LaFaive said.

That person could even cut the pay of the mayor and city council members.

In a 2001 report, LaFaive wrote about Detroit's burgeoning fiscal problems and recommended privatization, contracting out services and ways to generate revenue.

"I think they knew what the recommendations were, but their hands were tied a bit by recalcitrant employee unions," LaFaive said. "Those kinds of bold reforms would be difficult to get over with the city council or voters, in general."

Last month, Bing declared the city government "broken" and said the public's checkbook would be short by $45 million next year unless Detroit starts saving money fast. In an attempt to ward off an emergency manager, he proposed laying off 1,000 employees ? 9 percent of the workforce ? and negotiating 10 percent pay cuts with unions.

"If Lansing believes our plan isn't strong enough, I'd like to hear their suggestions for what they can improve," the mayor said. He suggested the state help by supplying millions of dollars that he says the city was promised in a decade-old tax overhaul. Detroit has also sought help collecting its income tax.

"It's our hope that the mayor and city council and labor can cut their own deal that works for the city," Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon said Friday.

But even after a number of threats from the mayor, organized labor barely budged. Now that a state takeover looks more likely, adversaries have become partners.

"We're going to sit down and resolve these issues," said Al Garrett, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 25 in Michigan.

A Michigan-based corporate turnaround specialist, James McTevia, said there would be potential pitfalls for any Detroit manager. Pay cuts ordered without negotiation, he said, could make the city's workforce boil.

"You can breach all the union contracts you want, but if the police and the fire department walked out, you are in deep trouble," McTevia said.

Detroit has struggled for years after the auto industry collapsed, leaving the city with a much-reduced tax base and a dwindling population of 713,000, down 25 percent in just the last decade.

Managers already oversee Flint, Pontiac and Benton Harbor, as well as the Detroit public schools.

As Benton Harbor's emergency manager, Joe Harris has ordered firefighter cross-training for police officers, which reduced public-safety costs by a third.

He also negotiated new collective-bargaining agreements with many unions, forcing Benton Harbor employees to pay 20 percent of their health care premiums and contribute 10 percent of their wages to pensions.

In Pontiac, emergency manager Lou Schimmel dismissed the city clerk, the city attorney and the head of public works. He's also taken smaller steps, such as removing parking meters that cost too much to maintain. And he hopes to save $3 million by having the neighboring community of Waterford take over fire protection.

"It's daunting anywhere but, yeah, you can fix it," Schimmel said of Detroit. "First, I'd want a list of all assets the city owns ? the land, buildings, operations the city shouldn't operate and should sell. The lighting system is still run by Detroit. That's crazy. I'd want to concentrate on privatizing core services. I'd want to get police and fire contracts in line."

The Citizens Research Council, a nonpartisan group that studies government at all levels, analyzed Detroit's finances in 2010 and warned that the city "must be restructured." The city, it noted, owns a small airport, has its own health service, regional water agency and streetlight department, and uses city employees, not contractors, to pick up trash.

Sheila Cockrel, a city council member for 16 years until 2010, said long-term relief is unlikely until the city changes the pension system to a 401(k)-style defined-contribution plan and puts more health insurance costs on employees and retirees.

"The entire structure of the city reflects a 1950s model in which the United States was the dominant economy of the world and automobile manufacturing was the core driver," said Cockrel, who teaches at Wayne State University in Detroit. "None of that is true anymore."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_re_us/us_detroit_takeover

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Kristin Cavallari & Jay Cutler?s Engagement Back On!

Kristin Cavallari & Jay Cutler’s Engagement Back On!

Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler’s engagement is back on, after Cutler had called off the wedding off back in July. But the couple have worked [...]

Kristin Cavallari & Jay Cutler’s Engagement Back On! Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2011/12/01/kristin-cavallari-confirms-engagement-to-jay-cutler-is-back-on/

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Give your iPhone 4S a stainless steel backing with Luxe Plates

Have an iPhone 4S (or iPhone 4) and want to protect that delicate back glass when you lay it on the table?? Many people usually use a variation of Zagg?s InvisibleShield or Skin for their iPhone.? But I would also like something more durable and luxury looking.? That?s where Luxe Plates come in.? Luxe Plates [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/12/01/give-your-iphone-4s-a-stainless-steel-backing-with-luxe-plates/

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