Leagues poised to challenge NJ over sports betting

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) ? Four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA are poised to move forward with their legal fight over New Jersey's plans to allow sports gambling.

That comes after a judge on Friday rejected arguments that the leagues couldn't prove they would be harmed if the state proceeds with the plans.

In denying the state's request to dismiss the lawsuit by the NBA, NHL, NFL, Major League Baseball and the NCAA, U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp agreed that they have standing to file the suit because expanding legal sports betting to New Jersey would negatively affect perception of their games.

In his ruling, Shipp cited studies offered by the leagues that showed fans' negative attitudes toward game-fixing and sports gambling.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy declined to comment on the ruling, telling The Associated Press on Saturday that "the decision speaks for itself."

Stacey Osburn, director of public and media relations for the NCAA, said the association was "pleased with the court's ruling. The NCAA has long maintained that sports wagering threatens the well-being of student-athletes and the integrity of college sports."

Phone messages left Saturday for officials with the NBA and NHL were not immediately returned. A voicemail for a MLB spokesman was full and would not accept messages.

New Jersey also has argued in court papers that a 1990s law prohibiting sports gambling in all but four states is unconstitutional, and Shipp ordered that a date for oral argument on that issue will be set after Jan. 20.

The federal law prohibited sports gambling in all states but Nevada, where bettors can gamble on single games, and three other states that were allowed to offer multi-game parlay betting. New Jersey has argued the law usurps the authority of state legislatures and discriminates by "grandfathering" in some states.

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., who has worked in the House to change the federal law, decried Shipp's decision.

"It is absurd for the professional sports leagues and the NCAA to claim that they will suffer injuries as a result of the legalization of sports betting in New Jersey," Pallone said Saturday.

"That these organizations claim that the sports they represent will somehow have their reputation impacted is na?ve at best and assumes that illegal gambling is not currently occurring in lieu of legal sports betting," he added. "The fact is that the presence of illegal betting and the crime that goes with it has a far greater impact on the legitimacy of sports organization."

The leagues filed suit in August after Gov. Chris Christie vowed to defy a federal ban on sports wagering. The Republican governor signed a sports betting law in January, limiting bets to the Atlantic City casinos and the state's horse racing tracks.

New Jersey has said it plans to license sports betting as soon as January, and in October it published regulations governing licenses. But the state agreed to give the leagues 30 days' notice before it grants any licenses and hasn't done so yet, the state attorney general's office said last week.

The state, represented by former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson, had argued before Shipp last Tuesday that the leagues are as popular as they've ever been despite the existence of legal gambling in Nevada and more widespread illegal gambling.

The NCAA has said it will relocate several championship events scheduled to be held in New Jersey next year because of the state's sports gambling push.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-22-Sports%20Betting/id-a74d9615283d4f8582fd31d228213afa

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Fast-acting enzymes with two fingers: Switch protein structurally and dynamically explained

Dec. 19, 2012 ? Researchers at the RUB and from the MPI Dortmund have uncovered the mechanism that switches off the cell transport regulating proteins. They were able to resolve in detail how the central switch protein Rab is down-regulated with two "protein fingers" by its interaction partners.

The structural and dynamic data is reported by the researchers led by Prof. Dr. Klaus Gerwert (Chair of Biophysics, RUB) and Prof. Dr. Roger S. Goody (Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany) in the Online Early Edition of the journal PNAS.

"Unlike in the cell growth protein Ras, which is regulated with only one 'finger', we have surprisingly found a two-finger switch-off mechanism in Rab. This throws a completely new light on the functioning of certain enzymes, the small GTPases, to which Rab belongs," Klaus Gerwert explains.

Switch proteins associated with various diseases

Unlike Ras proteins that regulate cell growth, Rab GTPases (also called Rab proteins) control various transport operations between different areas of a cell. If the transport system is disrupted, diseases such as obesity can occur. The Rab proteins work as a switch, just like the Ras proteins. In the "on" state, the high-energy molecule GTP is bound, in the "off" state, the lower-energy GDP. The cleavage of GTP to GDP is catalysed by the so-termed RabGAP proteins. In so doing, GTP is split into GDP and phosphate. The research team observed the underlying reaction in time and space for the first time with the highest possible atomic resolution.

First a snapshot, then a whole film

Using X-ray structure analysis, the researchers first determined the spatial structure of the protein complex. The data showed a finger of the amino acid arginine, and a second finger of glutamine. The arginine finger was already known from Ras. The glutamine finger is new and surprising. RabGAP penetrates into the GTP-binding pocket of Rab with both fingers and accelerates the GTP cleavage over five orders of magnitude. The biophysicists observed this dynamic process in real time using FTIR spectroscopy. "In contrast to X-ray structure analysis, FTIR spectroscopy not only gives us a snapshot of the reaction, but an entire film," says PD Dr. Carsten K?tting. The result: both catalytic fingers penetrate simultaneously into the GTP-binding pocket and leave it with the phosphate cleaved from the GTP.

Medically interesting mechanism

In their experiment, the researchers examined the protein Rab1b and the RabGAP TBC1D20. Other Rab proteins and RabGAPs are similar to these two representatives. "Thus, we assume that they also interact via a two-finger mechanism," Konstantin Gavriljuk speculates. The ability of the two-finger system to also switch off mutated Rab proteins, i.e. mutated GTPases, could also be medically very interesting. It would be conceivable to develop small molecules that mimic the two-finger mechanism, and thus switch off other mutant GTPases, such as Ras, which emit uncontrolled growth signals and thus are involved in tumour formation.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. K. Gavriljuk, E.-M. Gazdag, A. Itzen, C. Kotting, R. S. Goody, K. Gerwert. Catalytic mechanism of a mammalian Rab{middle dot}RabGAP complex in atomic detail. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1214431110

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/As0RAAMn7yo/121219084056.htm

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Greece facing critical year, says finance minister: FT

LONDON (Reuters) - Greece is facing a critical year that hinges on its three-party ruling coalition sticking together and following the bailout program agreed with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said in the Financial Times on Thursday.

"We can make it next year if we can stick to the program agreed with the EU and IMF. The break would be if the political system finds the situation too difficult to handle," he said in an interview with the newspaper.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's government has implored Greeks to endure austerity measures, which have dented its popularity since it won power in a June election.

"What we have done so far is necessary, but not sufficient to achieve a permanent solution for Greece. The issue now is implementation," Stournaras said.

The government has been boosted by last week's agreement with the euro zone to provide Athens with nearly 50 billion euros ($64 billion) in long-delayed aid, securing Greece's survival in the bloc after months of doubt and political turmoil.

The disbursement of aid marked "a vote of confidence" in the government's ability to deliver fiscal and structural reforms, but many ordinary Greeks and anti-bailout political parties have belittled or dismissed the deal.

Greece faces a sixth straight year of recession in 2013, with its economy set to shrink by about 4 percent, Stournaras said, however, that "there will be a light showing by the end of next year."

"Our partners' decision to give us so much money - more than we expected - removes a large part of the risk...we still face the possible risk of bankruptcy," he said.

"It is going to be a very difficult year?...?but if we continue on this track, reduce the budget deficit and also complete measures to improve competitiveness, 2014 and 2015 will be much easier," he said.

(Reporting by Stephen Mangan; editing by Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/greece-facing-critical-says-finance-minister-ft-002736282--business.html

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'Extinct' whale found: Odd-looking pygmy whale traced back 2 million years

Extinct whale found? Well, sort of. Scientists have traced the lineage of the pygmy right whale back to a ancient family of whales called cetotheres, who were thought to be extinct.

By Tia Ghose,?LiveScience.com / December 19, 2012

The pygmy whale, a cetacean that looks radically different from all living whales, is actually the last living member of a group thought to have gone extinct 2 million years ago Credit:

Darryl Wilson, University of Otago/LiveScience.com

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The pygmy right whale, a mysterious and elusive creature that rarely comes to shore, is the last living relative of an ancient group of whales long believed to be extinct, a new study suggests.

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The findings, published Tuesday, Dec. 18, in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, may help to explain why the enigmatic marine mammals look so different from any other living whale.

"The living pygmy right whale is, if you like, a remnant, almost like a living fossil," said Felix Marx, a paleontologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand. "It's the last survivor of quite an ancient lineage that until now no one thought was around."

Living fossil

The relatively diminutive pygmy right whale, which grows to just 21 feet (6.5 meters) long, lives out in the open ocean. The elusive marine mammals inhabit the Southern Hemisphere and have only been spotted at sea a few dozen times. As a result, scientists know almost nothing about the species' habits or social structure.

The strange creature's arched, frownlike snout makes it look oddly different from other living whales. DNA analysis suggested pygmy right whales diverged from modern baleen whales such as the blue whale and the humpback whale between 17 million and 25 million years ago. However, the pygmy whales' snouts suggested they were more closely related to the family of whales that includes the bowhead whale. Yet there were no studies of fossils showing how the pygmy whale had evolved, Marx said. [In Photos: Tracking Humpback Whales]

To understand how the pygmy whale fit into the lineage of whales, Marx and his colleagues carefully analyzed the skull bones and other fossil fragments from pygmy right whales and several other ancient cetaceans.

The pygmy whale's skull most closely resembled that of an ancient family of whales called cetotheres that were thought to have gone extinct around 2 million years ago, the researchers found. Cetotheres emerged about 15 million years ago and once occupied oceans across the globe.

The findings help explain how pygmy whales evolved and may also help shed light on how these ancient "lost" whales lived. The new information is also a first step in reconstructing the ancient lineage all the way back to the point when all members of this group first diverged, he said.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook?& Google+.?

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/Rb2Gcti6wv4/Extinct-whale-found-Odd-looking-pygmy-whale-traced-back-2-million-years

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Amelia Lily at Mahiki Nightclub in London

IN Amelia Lily

Amelia Lily at Mahiki Nightclub in London

December 19, 2012

Tags: Boots, Short Dress

Source: http://fabzz.com/amelia-lily-at-mahiki-nightclub-in-london.html

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Google launches Dead Sea Scrolls library

JERUSALEM, Israel (AP) ? Israeli authorities say they have put 5,000 fragments of the ancient Dead Sea scrolls online in a partnership with Google.

The digital library launched on Tuesday, with important texts like the Book of Deuteronomy, which includes the Ten Commandments, and a portion of the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, dated to the first century B.C.

It is part of a broader attempt by the custodians of the celebrated manuscripts ? who were once criticized for allowing them to be monopolized by small circles of scholars ? to make them broadly available.

Shuka Dorman, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority says: "Now, everyone can touch the stroll on-screen around the globe," says

Last year, Google also partnered with the Israel Museum to put five scrolls online.

___

Online: www.deadseascrolls.org.il

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-18-Israel-Google/id-b81cdda434004107bffc0b56ed0be5ac

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Rangers looks beyond Scotland on stock market return

LONDON (Reuters) - Rangers Football Club, which has raised 22 million pounds in a stock market listing, said talk of a European football league made it a good investment despite its demotion to Scotland's fourth tier.

Money raised from listing on London's junior AIM market will be used to support the Glasgow club's recovery after one of the most spectacular downfalls in British football.

Scottish champions a record 54 times, Rangers were demoted three levels to the bottom tier of the Scottish game after their parent company was liquidated earlier this year.

Chief executive Charles Green, who took over after the club collapsed, said Rangers and perennial Glasgow rivals Celtic were too big for Scottish football.

"There are now serious talks going on about a restructuring of Scottish football and the European game," he told Reuters.

"There are lots of alternatives. Rangers, being the size it is, will be involved in those restructuring moves. That is where institutions see the growth story."

Rangers lead the Scottish third division by six points after a 3-0 home win over Annan Athletic on Tuesday in front of a crowd of more than 42,000 - a huge attendance for that level of the game.

Clubs from Europe's smaller domestic competitions have periodically talked about combining to try to keep pace with wealthy teams from England's Premier League, Germany's Bundesliga and Spain's La Liga.

"OLD FIRM" REUNITED

Green said he was delighted with a flotation that valued the club at 45 million pounds. Initial market reaction was positive, with shares adding 4 pence to 74 pence by 8.45 a.m British time.

Celtic, which has dominated Scottish football with Rangers for decades, is also listed on AIM. The two clubs, who have an often bitter rivalry, are known collectively as the "Old Firm".

After a series of listings in the 1990s, investors have grown wary of buying stocks in European football clubs whose fortunes are tied up with results on the field and which often spent heavily chasing success.

Manchester United, English champions a record 19 times, bucked the trend by listing in New York in August, valuing the club at $2.3 billion at the time.

Rangers raised 17 million pounds from large institutional investors and 5 million from fans. Investors were left out of pocket earlier this year when the club went bust.

"A week before Christmas, this is an amazing effort from the fans," said Green.

The club planned to limit its wage bill to a third of turnover, a low level by the spendthrift standards of football, and has vowed not to take on bank debt.

"Being demoted to the fourth tier of Scottish football, there is not a huge financial pressure on us," Green said. "It gives us time to structure this business in a way that is financially stable."

($1 = 0.6155 pound)

(Editing by Dan Lalor)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rangers-fc-raises-22-million-market-return-072500409--finance.html

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