Hope for jab against spider bites

8 May 2013 Last updated at 20:53 ET

A jab that protects against poisonous spider venom may become a reality one day, early research suggests.

Brazilian scientists created a synthetic protein that protected rabbits from the effects of spider poison in experiments.

A new generation of anti-venom vaccines could save thousands of lives a year, researchers report in Vaccine journal.

The spider tested, belonging to the genus Loxosceles, injures almost 7,000 people a year in Brazil alone.

Members of this group of spiders, which are found worldwide, include the reaper or brown spider.

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

We wanted to develop a new way of protecting people from the effects of these spider bites without having to suffer from side-effects?

End Quote Dr Carlos Chavez-Olortegui Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Their bite causes open sores and can lead to more serious effects such as internal bleeding and kidney failure.

In experiments, researchers used part of the spider toxin to create a synthetic protein designed to raise antibodies against the venom.

"Existing anti-venoms are made of the pure toxins and can be harmful to people who take them," said Dr Carlos Ch?vez-Olortegui, of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil.

"We wanted to develop a new way of protecting people from the effects of these spider bites without having to suffer from side-effects."

Scientists say the research could be the start of a new generation of anti-venom vaccines capable of saving thousands of lives worldwide.

The researchers tested the new protein on rabbits in the laboratory.

They say immunised rabbits were protected from skin damage at the site of venom injection, and from haemorrhaging.

The research is reported in the journal Vaccine.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22454439#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Burying bomb suspect proves a struggle

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) ? A funeral director trying to find a cemetery to take the body of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is going next to the city where Tsarnaev lived, but will run into another obstacle: It doesn't want him.

Worcester funeral director Peter Stefan said he plans to ask the city of Cambridge to provide a plot because he hasn't been able to find a cemetery in Massachusetts willing to accept Tsarnaev's remains. He said if Cambridge turns him down, he will seek help from state officials.

Cambridge City Manager Robert Healy said in a statement Sunday that he is urging the funeral director and Tsarnaev's family not to request a burial permit for the city-owned cemetery.

"The difficult and stressful efforts of the citizens of the City of Cambridge to return to a peaceful life would be adversely impacted by the turmoil, protests, and wide spread media presence at such an interment," Healy said.

The dilemma over where to bury the 26-year-old suspect comes as a friend of his brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev heads to court Monday for a bail hearing on charges that he lied to federal investigators after the bombings.

Defense attorneys said in court documents filed Saturday that they will ask a federal judge to release Robel Phillipos of Cambridge from jail. They said he had nothing to do with the deadly bombings and isn't a flight risk.

Phillipos, 19, was charged last week with lying to investigators about visiting Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's college dorm room on April 18, three days after the bombings. Two other friends were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice by taking a backpack with fireworks and a laptop from Tsarnaev's dorm room. All four had studied at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Phillipos faces a maximum of eight years behind bars and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

The Tsarnaev brothers are accused of carrying out the April 15 bombing, which used pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails, ball bearings and metal shards. The attack killed three people and injured more than 260 others near the marathon's finish line.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev died after a gunfight with police on April 19. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured and remains in a prison hospital. He has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and faces a potential death sentence if convicted.

Healey said there has been no formal application for a permit or purchase of a cemetery plot for Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and that it would not be in the best interest of the city to execute a deed for a plot.

Healey said the families who have loved ones interred at the cemetery also deserve to have their deceased family members rest in peace. He said other federal agencies should take the lead in the burial.

Stefan did not immediately return a call Sunday night seeking comment on Healy's statement.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev's uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, of Montgomery Village, Md., and three of his friends met with Stefan on Sunday and prepared to wash and shroud Tsarnaev's body according to Muslim tradition.

Tsarni told reporters that he is arranging for Tsarnaev's burial because religion and tradition call for his nephew to be buried. He would like him buried in Massachusetts because he's lived in the state for the last decade, he said.

"I'm dealing with logistics. A dead person must be buried," he said.

He said he was grateful to Stefan for agreeing to arrange the burial and to his friends for accompanying him to Massachusetts to aid with the funeral.

"These are my friends who feel for me ... as I do understand no one wants to associate their names with such evil events," he said.

Tsarnaev, who had appeared in surveillance photos wearing a black cap, was identified by authorities as Suspect No. 1.

Stefan said he has received calls from people criticizing him and calling him "un-American" for being willing to handle Tamerlan Tsarnaev's funeral.

"We take an oath to do this. Can I pick and choose? No. Can I separate the sins from the sinners? No," he said. "We are burying a dead body. That's what we do."

A half-dozen protesters gathered outside the funeral home Sunday holding signs and American flags and chanting "USA!" One sign read: "Do not bury him on U.S. soil." Several people drove by the funeral home earlier Sunday and yelled, including one man who shouted, "Throw him off a boat like Osama bin Laden!"

The state medical examiner ruled that Tsarnaev died from gunshot wounds and blunt trauma to his head and torso, and authorities have said his brother ran him over in a chaotic getaway attempt. Stefan said Sunday that the family won't request that an independent medical examiner perform a second autopsy, but representatives from the family's legal team might photograph Tsarnaev's body before it's washed.

Tsarni has denounced the acts his nephews are accused of committing and has said they brought shame to the family and the entire Chechen ethnicity. The brothers are ethnic Chechens from Russia who came to the United States about a decade ago with their parents. Both parents returned to Dagestan last year.

Tsarni said Sunday that he hopes to eventually see Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at his prison hospital.

"This is another person left all to himself," he said.

In other developments:

? The FBI on Sunday conducted a court-authorized search in Cambridge as part of its ongoing investigation into the bombings, said Jason Pack, a supervisory special agent in the FBI's press office. He declined to elaborate further.

? The administrator of the charity One Fund Boston was to hold a public meeting Monday evening with victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. The fund has raised more than $28 million.

? Charity watchdog groups have warned the public that tens of thousands of dollars have been raised in online fundraising campaigns that some recipients knew nothing about and did not endorse. They urged people to be aware of possible scams or misuse of money.

_____

Associated Press writer Jay Lindsay in Boston contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/finding-burial-plot-bomb-suspect-struggle-062404648.html

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Verizon releases substantial Galaxy Note II update, improves Multi Window support

Alongside a bump up to Android 4.1.2, Verizon's Galaxy Note II update (which is apparently rolling out now) adds plenty of improvements and features. As well as fixing several bugs with its calendar and email apps, the refresh adds Multi Window support to some key players, including Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Kindle and Google Maps -- a feature that was there from the start on the global model. There's also a new notification panel editing menu within settings and Samsung's Smart Switch app to speed up migrating content from your old device to another, although whether you'd need that when you're updating your own Note II is a good question.

Another bullet-point caught our attention too. Tucked away at the end of the change log issued by Verizon is, would you believe it, the removal of one of its preloaded apps. Shopping app Zappos gets dropped during the update.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Verizon

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Source: Verizon

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

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Sex ed book in Hebrew for Israel's Orthodox Jews

JERUSALEM (AP) ? A how-to book translated into Hebrew aims to teach Israel's Orthodox Jews about sex, targeting an audience typically mum on the steamy subject.

The book, "The Newlywed's Guide to Physical Intimacy," was published in English more than a year ago in the U.S. The Hebrew version is set to come out this month, meant for Israel's Orthodox Jews, who make up about a quarter of the country's population. It appears be the first of its kind.

Under Orthodox Judaism, intercourse is permissible only after marriage and public displays of sexuality are taboo. Many Orthodox Jews do not even touch members of the opposite sex except their spouses and children. But sex is not considered shameful, and procreation is seen as a "mitzvah," or commandment from God. For this reason, large families are commonplace in Orthodox communities. Yet for many young newlyweds, romance and intimacy are mysteries.

The book's co-author, David S. Ribner, said it is meant to offer useful information to couples both before their wedding night, an emotional time when they are expected to consummate their marriage, and during their relationship leading up to that, when they might face a slew of unfamiliar challenges.

"If you've never seen a picture, if you've never talked about it, if you've never seen a movie, if you've never had a conversation with parents or friends, how exactly are you supposed to know the mechanics of that particular activity?" said Ribner, an American-born sex therapist whose Jerusalem clientele is made up of Orthodox Jews. Ribner's co-author is educator Jennie Rosenfeld.

Unlike secular Israelis, observant Jews are rarely given sex education until the weeks leading up to their marriage, where the prospective bride and groom are counseled separately on a variety of subjects, including the logistics of intercourse, the importance of communication and religious bedroom requirements and rituals.

Ribner said the content of the counseling is not always consistent, and couples don't receive all the information they need to enjoy a healthy sex life.

His book attempts to set out in clear terms the nitty-gritty of sex, from foreplay and kissing to mechanics, specifically aimed at young adults who are making the transition from a life where sex is taboo to marriage. It discusses concerns like erectile dysfunction and painful intercourse. It addresses Orthodox-specific issues, like the time during and after a woman's monthly period when the man is not permitted to touch his wife.

Ribner, an Orthodox Jew, called the writing "clear" avoiding euphemisms. The book itself has no pictures, but a sealed envelope attached to the back cover contains simple sketches showing three sexual positions and genitalia. A warning on the envelope declares the illustrations explicit, and says "each person should take this into account before viewing the drawings." Ribner said anyone opposed to their graphic nature "can just throw them away."

The English book has received positive reviews, but it is being sold mostly online because religious bookstores have been reluctant to carry such a sensitive book. The publisher, Gefen Publishing House, said "several thousand" copies have been sold.

Ribner said he is unsure how stores in Israel, or the Hebrew book's Orthodox Jewish target audience, will receive it. The authors have not sought any rabbinic approval because they wanted it to reach as wide an audience as possible and not limit its teachings to the followers of one rabbi or another.

Jonathan Rosenblum, an Orthodox Jewish commentator in Jerusalem, said the book is not likely to find its way to the strictest Jewish communities in Israel, though more modern Orthodox Jews might be accepting.

"In some of the more conservative elements, even terms like pregnancy aren't used, because children might ask their mom how she got pregnant," he said. "They might be uncomfortable just having this in the house."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sex-ed-book-hebrew-israels-orthodox-jews-155551111.html

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Google Partners With Monotype To Bring Its Web Fonts To The Desktop

Google’s Web Fonts collection of open source fonts is now available on the desktop (Mac and Windows). At first glance, that doesn’t make all that much sense, given that the whole idea of Web Fonts is that they bring new typography options to the Web that were previously only available on the desktop. As Google notes, however, having these fonts available locally on your desktop means that your browser doesn’t actually have to spend time fetching them over the web. Google is using SkyFonts, a tool from font specialist Monotype, to allow you to install these fonts. The advantage of this, the company says, is that this tool also ensures that the fonts are regularly updated when new characters are added or the designers make other changes to it. Google launched Web Fonts in 2011. The service currently offers access to over 620 font families and all of these, of course, are now also available on the desktop. When it launched Web Fonts, Google said that it was doing so to free designers from having to use Flash or embed text in images to bring better and more interesting typography to the web. Google is obviously just one player in this market. Adobe, for example, offers similar features with its freemium TypeKit service and Edge Web Fonts for free and open source fonts. It’s also worth noting that many of the fonts available through Google Web Fonts were already available for the desktop.

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

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Yahoo Acquires Four Million User ?To Do' App And Mailbox Competitor Astrid, Will Shut It Down In 90 Days

“Happier, healthier,?more productive.” That was the goal of mobile app Astrid, and now Yahoo is taking up the mission as it’s just acquired the to-do app developer. Co-founded by a former Palantir engineer, Tim Su, Astrid says that it has four million users, who as of September 2012 logged 30 million plans on the platform. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Astrid had only raised $400,000 from investors that included Google Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, Jack Herrick and TMT Ventures. The app will remain working for another 90 days before it’s shut down by Yahoo. It’s not accepting any new users in the meantime. It’s unclear whether this is an acqui-hire or whether Yahoo intends to use some of Astrid’s technology for its bigger mobile strategy. With Astrid, Yahoo is picking up Tim Su’s big data expertise but also skills from Jon Paris, the co-founder and CEO, who before Astrid had also founded another startup, Graceful Tools, and before that had been Campus Director for the Stanford Chapter of InterVarsity, the Christian student group. “We?re really excited to join the mobile team and continue this work with Yahoo!?s goal of ‘making the world?s daily habits more inspiring and entertaining,’” Paris notes on behalf of the Astrid team in a note on the site. Launched back in 2008, Astrid was a pioneer in the email management and to-do app space.?Now it runs on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows and desktop and mobile web. The app lets you create lists, reminders, and its Siri integration on iOS lets it act as a voice-based command system. If some of Astrid’s technology does end up getting used at Yahoo, the acquisition gives Yahoo a potential lever to compete with apps like Mailbox: one of the features that Astrid touts is that it can help users clean up their inboxes in 30 minutes.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/DUKdGQUa5Y4/

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Syria activists say rockets hit central Damascus

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) ? Syrian activists are reporting that that several rockets have fallen on a popular Damascus neighborhood.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rockets fell on the Bab Mesalla neighborhood in central Damascus. Initial information indicates that there were casualties, but the number could not be obtained immediately, the Observatory said.

It said police sealed off the area, which has restaurants, shops and a main public transportation station linking Damascus with the southern provinces of Daraa and Sweida.

Meanwhile, the Observatory said that a bomb exploded in a nearby neighborhood, near police headquarters on Khalid Bin Walid Street. It said several people, including children, were wounded in the blast.

No other details were immediately available.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syria-activists-rockets-hit-central-damascus-140811219.html

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How To Prove The Value Of Facebook - Business Insider

Social Media Insights is a daily newsletter from Business Insider that collects and delivers the top social media news first thing every morning. You can sign up to receive Social Media Insights here or at the bottom of this post.

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More Ads Are Destined For Your Facebook Feed (WSJ)
Facebook has been pushing more ads into the news feeds of users, instead of in more easily-ignored advertising slots on the side of the page. The numbers explain why. News feed ads are more effective than other types of Facebook ads, and earn Facebook more money. According to Spruce Media, the average cost per thousand views (CPM) for a news feed advertisement is $4.41, compared to just $0.39 across the whole site. Facebook is also rolling out ads billed on a "cost per action" (CPA) basis, which means the company will charge advertisers not for impressions, but for specific user actions such as likes or comments.?Read >

How To Show Your Clients The Value Of Facebook (Dashburst)
Have you ever had clients who weren't yet sold on Facebook? Most people know Facebook could potentially help them grow their businesses, but getting a page set up and managed properly can still be a daunting task for many folks. First off, you might need to nudge your clients toward acting. When researching your pitch, find examples of similar businesses that have vibrant Facebook presences. Let the clients know what they're missing out on. Finally, show them some examples of pages you've helped develop in order to establish your own credibility.?Read >

The Future Of Social Media (Social Media Today)
When looking to the future of Social Media, you will need to consider the following:

• Tribes ? We as humans, by nature, are social despite the many years spent relying on mass marketing. We will be using social media as a way to have conversations and build a community or tribe that share the same interests.
• Relevancy ? Something that will always be crucial to social media is how relevant the content is that you are sharing.
• SoLoMo ? We are in a new era now where being Social, Local and Mobile are an important part of being on social media.

So, where is Social Media going? Read >

Twitter Shortcuts You Need To Know (Mobile Marketing Watch)
Consider it a social media cheat sheet for Twitter users. If you?re an aspiring social media marketer who engages with consumers, clients, and countless others on Twitter, learning how to navigate the platform easily should be a high priority.?Thanks to a new infographic highlighting the must-know shortcuts of the social media world, tweeting may soon become a whole lot simpler and more efficient. Read >

Twitter Testing Its Official Google Glass App (TechCrunch)
It?s only a matter of time before Twitter releases its own Google Glass app, as Kleiner Perkins?s?John Doerr dropped the hint that the company was looking into building one during this month?s Glass Collective announcement. A tweet from an official Twitter Glass app has been spotted. Read >

China's Equivalent Of Facebook Gets $580 Million From Alibaba (TechCrunch)
Sina Weibo, the micro-blogging platform that took root among China?s white-collar class, may be worth more than $3 billion after Alibaba agreed to pay $586 million to buy preferred and ordinary shares in the company. The deal creates a strategic alliance between Alibaba ??which runs the eBay of China ??and Sina Weibo, which is kind of like a Facebook-Twitter hybrid. Read >

Amazing Social Media Statistics For Brands And Businesses (Balihoo via Mediabistro)
Did you know that almost three-quarters (71%) of Internet users are more likely to purchase from a brand that they are following on a social networking site such as Twitter or Facebook? Read >

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-prove-the-value-of-facebook-2013-4

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Weather Channel interns batten down the hatches for tornado week

BERLIN, April 29 (Reuters) - Barcelona will try every trick in the book to overturn a 4-0 first-leg deficit against Bayern Munich in their Champions League semi-final return leg on Wednesday, honorary Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer warned on Monday. Bayern crushed the Spaniards last week in a surprisingly one-sided encounter but Beckenbauer, former player, coach and president of Germany's most successful club, warned that Barcelona were not ready to surrender. "Barca will try everything to throw Bayern off balance," he told Bild newspaper. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/weather-channel-interns-batten-down-hatches-tornado-week-230412150.html

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