Nigerian author Chinua Achebe dies at 82

Afp/getty Images / AFP - Getty Images file

Author Chinua Achebe outside his home at Ogidi, eastern Nigeria, in 1999.

By Eun Kyung Kim, TODAY contributor

Nigerian novelist and poet Chinua Achebe, whose 1958 novel ?Things Fall Apart? addressed colonialism on African society, has died.

His publisher, Penguin, confirmed his death, at age 82, according to Reuters, on Friday.

Achebe?s breakthrough novel focused on the clash between Western and traditional values. It told the story of colonialism for the first time from an African perspective, and?has sold more than 10 million copies and been translated into more than 50 languages.

Nelson Mandela has credited Achebe for bringing ?Africa to the rest of the world" and called him "the writer in whose company the prison walls came down.?

A spokeswoman for Penguin confirmed his death but had few other details. She said the family would be releasing a statement shortly.

Reuters contributed to this report.?

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/29de6515/l/0Ltodaynews0Btoday0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C220C174146120Enigerian0Eauthor0Echinua0Eachebe0Edies0Eat0E820Dlite/story01.htm

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Hunting for meat impacts on rainforest

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Hunting for meat in the African rainforests has halved the number of primates. However, the hunting also has other negative consequences. The decline in the number of primates causes a reduction in the dispersal of seed by the primates, and this leads to a reduction in the numbers of important fruit trees and changes to the rainforest. This has been shown in new research from Lund University in Sweden.

The destruction of the world's rainforests is generally recognised as a major problem. However, it is not only felling and clear-cutting that change the rainforest. A research project at Lund University has looked at the effects of hunting on the forest. The researchers studied rainforests in Nigeria, where the local population hunts for food. The animals that are hunted include almost all mammals, including gorillas and chimpanzees and some small species of monkey.

"Hunting has a dramatic effect on the composition and structure of the forest, just as logging does, but without felling any trees", said Ola Olsson, a researcher at the Department of Biology, Lund University.

Both apes and small monkeys play an important role in seed dispersal in the rainforest, as they feed on a variety of different fruits. As the number of primates declines as a result of hunting, their seed spreading role also declines. If fewer fruit seeds are spread, fewer fruit trees will grow in the forests. Instead, species with wind-dispersed seeds will most likely take over.

Ola Olsson stressed that the present study does not give any definite answers to how the composition of the forests could change, but in his view, there could well be an increase in bushes and lianas. This would also have negative consequences for the local population.

"Many of the trees which have seeds that are dispersed by primates are also important to people, because those who live in the vicinity of the forests gather a lot of fruit and nuts", he said.

Moreover, a vicious circle arises, because primates cannot live in a forest without fruit trees. Ola Olsson would like to see better protection for nature reserves and national parks, and better information and education of local people in the villages. He remarked that the reasons for the hunting are somewhat complex. The meat forms a cheap and accessible source of protein for poor people, as well as a source of income if the carcasses can be sold in the towns, where people are prepared to pay high prices for ape meat.

"All our study sites are in protected areas, but the protection is insufficient", said Ola Olsson.

The trees also have other ecosystem functions, in the form of carbon sequestration and effects on nutrient cycling and retention. The researchers fear that when the composition of the tree species changes, there will be a knock-on effect on these processes. The study, which Ola Olsson has carried out together with Nigerian researcher Edu Effiom, has been published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/280/1759/20130246.abstract?sid=90e0d3d8-8566-49b8-a129-2cc00fc2a2d3

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Proceedings of the Royal Society B: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/280/1759/20130246.abstract?sid=90e0d3d8-8566-49b8-a129-2cc00fc2a2d3

Lund University: http://www.lu.se

Thanks to Lund University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127392/Hunting_for_meat_impacts_on_rainforest

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Marines killed in training were young, with bright futures

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) ? They're called "leathernecks" or "Devil Dogs," but some of the Marines killed in a desert training accident this week were just a year or so out of high school, their boyish faces not yet weathered by life's hardships

Just 19, Pfc. Josh Martino of Dubois, Pa., had already spent nearly half his young life dreaming of becoming one of "the few, the proud." He had joined in July and was hoping to marry his fiancee later this year before being deployed to Afghanistan, his mother said.

"Since he was probably 8 years old he wanted to be a Marine," Karen Perry said Wednesday after meeting with military officials to start planning her son's funeral. "That's all he wanted to do."

Lance Cpl. Josh Taylor, 21, also seemed to have been born for the Corps. The Marietta, Ohio, native had talked about being a Marine since he was about 5, said his grandfather, Larry Stephens. Josh, too, was planning for a wedding, scheduled for May.

Both young men were among seven members of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force killed late Monday when a mortar shell exploded in its firing tube during an exercise at Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada. Eight men were injured, some severely.

A decade after the invasion of Iraq and nearly 12 years since the United States launched the global war on terror, Americans have become wearily accustomed to the sight of flag-draped coffins being solemnly offloaded at Dover Air Force Base. But news of such loss on American soil, far from any foreign battlefield, has the power to shock.

___

During the past dozen years, barber Kenton Jones has touched the heads of many Marines and their family members. And they have touched him. Some of the men who've sat in his chair at Sharpe Cuts II ? just up a busy highway from Lejeune's main gate ? came home from the Middle East in coffins.

Staring out his window, he couldn't help wondering whether any of those killed or wounded in Nevada had come under his shears.

"During a time of war or whatever, the occupation ... you kind of expect it," he says. "But when it happens here, it seems senseless and it seems like a loss that could have been prevented."

Down the road in Jacksonville, Marine veteran Guy Henry Woods led out-of-state relatives on a tour of the Beirut Memorial, built to honor the 241 Marines, sailors and other American service members who died in a 1983 truck bombing that destroyed their barracks in the Lebanese capital.

Woods, 66, was wounded twice in Vietnam and spent time in a U.S. Navy hospital in Guam. Surrounded by curved glass walls etched with the names of the fallen, Woods said it mattered not whether these Marines died in an accident here at home or on a distant battlefield.

"They put that uniform on, they gain the same respect as anybody that's been to war," the grizzled 20-year veteran said over the sound of the dancing water in the memorial's fountain. "That's the way I personally look at it myself. I still respect them, and I sympathize with them for what happened."

___

The seven Marines killed ranged in age from 19 to 26. Some had served overseas; others were training for their first deployment.

While many had long dreamed of being Marines, some were already making plans for a life after the Corps.

Twenty-six-year-old Aaron Ripperda of Highland, Ill., joined the service after graduating from a St. Louis culinary school and finding the job market flat. His father tried to gently dissuade him.

"He told us he always felt like he had a calling to join the Marines," Kent Ripperda told The Associated Press from his home in Marine, Ill. "I guess maybe it was a prestige thing."

During a 2010 deployment in Afghanistan, Ripperda's mobile unit was responsible for transporting food to bases in the region, Justin Bergstrom, a fellow Marine, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in an email.

"He did talk about his cooking abilities," Bergstrom wrote. They joked about him being able to keep his fellow Marines fed.

Kent Ripperda said his son was eager to go back to college and "get on with his life."

Roger Muchnick, 23, who grew up in Westport, Conn., had already pulled one tour in Afghanistan and was thinking about returning to college after his enlistment was up, said his grandfather, Jerome Muchnick.

Muchnick played on the football and lacrosse teams at Staples High School and went on to play lacrosse at Eastern Connecticut State University, where he studied business. In a biography on the university's website, Muchnick said the one thing he would like to do before he died was "live," and that his most embarrassing moment was getting caught lip-synching in a school talent show.

"He was a fabulous kid. Just fabulous," his grandfather said. "He was at the top of his game when this happened. ... You can't imagine losing a very handsome, 23-year-old grandson who was vital and loving."

Lance Cpl. William Taylor Wild IV, 21, joined the Marines shortly after graduating in 2010 form Severna Park High School near Annapolis, Md. His mother, Elizabeth Wild, said he was in a weapons platoon that was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan in November. He already had been deployed twice to Afghanistan and once to Kuwait.

Wild said her son always wanted to go into the military, like his father, who is a command chief in the Air Force Reserve at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

The military Wednesday night identified the other Marines who were killed as Lance Cpl. David P. Fenn II, 20, of Polk City, Fla., and Lance Cpl. Mason J. Vanderwork, 21, of Hickory, N.C.

Both joined the Marines in June 2010 and were deployed to Afghanistan in 2011, a spokesman for the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force said in a written statement.

___

The explosion Monday caused an immediate suspension of the use of 60 mm mortars by the Marine Corps, with an exemption for troops in Afghanistan, U.S. military and Marine officials said. Marine units on the warfront may continue to use the mortars with the review and approval of their commanders. U.S. military officials in Afghanistan said they have not stopped using the mortars there.

The suspension, which will be in effect until the accident investigation is complete, largely affects units that are training, although those Marines could use the larger and more powerful 81 mm mortar systems if needed.

At Camp Lejeune, an 170-square-mile base and home to about 50,000 uniformed troops, counselors at the Naval Hospital were gearing up to offer help as the ripples from Monday's tragedy began reaching family and friends, barracks mates and survivors, said Dr. Sawsan Ghurani, director of mental health programs at the hospital.

"It's so unexpected that it's more of a shock than if you'd been mentally prepared" for battlefield casualties, said Ghurani, a psychiatrist and Navy captain. "You hope people don't die in war, but it is a common occurrence and whereas, in training exercises, it's very rare."

The ages of the victims make it even worse, Ghurani said.

"For me, it's especially tragic when they are so young and still have so much left to give in life and to experience in life that it just seems unfair," she said. But, she added, "The nature of the military culture is to be selfless."

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Ted Bridis, Lolita Baldor and Pauline Jelinek in Washington, Scott Sonner and Martin Griffith in Reno, Nev., Michelle Rindels and Ken Ritter in Las Vegas, Mitch Stacy in Columbus, Ohio, Jim Suhr from St. Louis, and Dave Collins in Hartford, Conn.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/marines-killed-training-were-young-lives-ahead-213439586.html

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Patent advice from teen inventors | Science News for Kids

By Kellyn Betts / March 20, 2013

After successfully building a wireless stethoscope, Catherine Wong went on to create this wireless device for transmitting information about the heart?s electrical signals.
Credit: Patrick Thornton, SSP

?I would encourage anyone who has created anything to think about seeking a patent because so many things can be patented,? says Catherine Wong. The 17-year-old student at Morristown High School, in New Jersey, advises teen inventors to start with a provisional patent.

John Ritter agrees. ?Provisional patents are an inexpensive way to get the process started while you evaluate your invention?s potential,? he says. And as a patent attorney in New Jersey, he should know. He also directs Princeton University?s Office of Technology Licensing.

Catherine also recommends starting with a patent search to determine whether your invention is really something new. Governments issue patents only for something novel, or new. Did someone beat you to it? It?s easy to search for patents online, either through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov/) or Google (www.google.com/patents) websites.

Applying for a patent may seem scary, but the Patent Office, located outside Washington, D.C., ?is really supportive of young students pursuing patents,? notes Alison Dana Bick, 19, who is in her second year at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J. The whole process is educational too. Along the way, she says, ?you learn a little bit about law and a little bit about being an inventor.?

One dilemma is figuring out when to apply for a patent. There?s a desire to quickly protect a new idea or invention, says Naomi Chetan Shah, 17, of Sunset High School in Portland, Ore. However, she adds, there can be a benefit to ensuring that your invention is as polished as possible. She recommends first asking professionals in the field for comments and advice on how you might improve it.

Once you do decide patenting is right for you, Catherine advises students to think long and hard before jumping from a provisional patent to a standard one. Taking all of the steps to get a standard patent can prove costly, she says. It also can take a long time.

The Patent Office currently reports having a backlog of nearly 600,000 patent applications to examine. That?s something Bick learned firsthand. The Patent Office didn?t get back with a decision on her patent applications for two and a half years. Only then did the young researcher learn that only part of her device would be patented. With Ritter?s help, she resubmitted her application. Only now, two years into college, has she learned that the Patent Office approved patent protection for her entire invention.

That?s one reason Catherine recommends that before applying for a standard patent, teens ask themselves whether they will still be pursuing the same research in three years? time. Considering all of the effort and costs that patenting can involve, ?You need to be in it for the long run.? So ?dream big,? she says, ?but also remain grounded about what the reality is.?

Power Words

patent A legal document that gives inventors control over how their inventions ? including devices, machines, materials, processes and substances ? are made, used and sold for a set period of time. Currently, this is 20 years from the date you first file for the patent. The U.S. government only grants patents to inventions shown to be unique.

patent claim Claims are the part of the patent application where the inventor defines his or her invention for legal purposes.

patent pending Anyone who has filed for a provisional or standard patent can legally say they have a patent pending.

provisional patent A relatively quick, inexpensive and simple initial U.S. patent application that establishes when you initially filed for your patent. You must file for a standard patent before a year is up to fully protect your invention.

royalty A payment made in exchange for the use of a patented invention.

U.S. Patent Office The federal government agency in charge of U.S. patents.

Source: http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2013/03/patent-advice-from-teen-inventors/

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Soccer-Oman loss would be 'disastrous' for Australia - Schwarzer

MELBOURNE, March 20 (Reuters) - Anything less than a win for Australia in their World Cup qualifier against Oman next week would be 'disastrous' for the Socceroos' hopes of making next year's finals in Brazil, acting captain Mark Schwarzer has said.

Australia are second in Group B of Asia qualifying, eight points behind runaway leaders Japan and equal on five points with Iraq and Oman with four matches remaining in their campaign. The top two from the group qualify for Brazil.

"Anything less than three points will be a disaster for us," the 40-year-old goalkeeper told reporters on Wednesday.

"It's going to be a very, very tough task for us."

Schwarzer, who plays for Fulham in the English Premier League, will lead the Socceroos in Tuesday's return match against the 105th-ranked Gulf nation in Sydney after being held to a 0-0 draw in the searing heat of Muscat last June.

That followed a shock 1-0 loss in the third round of qualifying to the same opponents, who have defied their lowly ranking to advance with a series of gritty displays against more fancied teams.

After a shock loss away to Jordan, the Holger Osieck-coached Socceroos put their World Cup qualifying campaign back on track with a gusty come-from-behind win away to Iraq, and are relieved to play three of their last four qualifiers on home soil.

"We've ended up being the team that plays three of the first of the four games away, and that was always going to be tough," added Schwarzer, who stands in for regular captain Lucas Neill, serving a one-match ban for drawing a yellow card during the Iraq qualifier.

"Obviously, if you look at where we're sitting on the table, it has worked out OK. We would have liked to pick up a couple more points along the way."

German Osieck, who has been under fire during 39th-ranked Australia's stodgy start to their final round of qualifying, named attacking midfielder Tim Cahill and a raft of Europe-based players in a strong squad for the Oman qualifier. (Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/soccer-oman-loss-disastrous-australia-schwarzer-061603785--sow.html

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Jawbone UP companion app now available for Android

Until today the Jawbone UP has been an iOS only affair if you want to take advantage of the mobile aspect, but that has changed with the release of the Android companion app. If you're not familiar with the device, it tracks sleeping and exercise habits, and when mated with your smartphone the companion application allows users to keep track of their diet as well, making it an all around fitness and health system.

The app has just now gone live in the Play Store for users to download, so head to the link at the top of this post to take a look.

Via: Engadget

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/EspYq6HaB8A/story01.htm

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Older fathers more likely to have autistic grandchildren

By Kate Kelland

LONDON (Reuters) - Men who have children when they are older are more likely to have grandchildren with autism, according to a study which shows for the first time that risk factors for autism may build up over generations.

Men who had a daughter when they were 50 or older were 1.79 times more likely to have a grandchild with autism than men between 20 and 24, and with sons the likelihood was 1.67 times.

Avi Reichenberg of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, who co-led the study, said the work showed for the first time "that your father's and grandfather's lifestyle choices can affect you.

"This doesn't mean that you shouldn't have children if your father was old when he had you, because whilst the risk is increased, it is still small," he said.

Autism disorders, caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, can range from severe mental retardation with a profound inability to communicate, to relatively mild symptoms combined with some high levels of function such as those seen in people with Asperger's syndrome.

Among core features of the disorders are poor communication skills and difficulties with social engagement. In the United States, an estimated 1 in 88 children have autism, while in Europe the rate is thought to be about in 100.

Research published in August last year showing that a father's age when a baby is conceived is the single largest factor in the risk of passing on new gene mutations may help explain why childhood autism rates are rising.

The study published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association's JAMA Psychiatry, used Swedish national registers and analyzed data from 5,936 people with autism and 30,923 healthy controls born in Sweden since 1932.

The researchers from Britain, Sweden and Australia factored in each person's maternal and paternal grandfathers' age of reproduction and details of any psychiatric diagnosis.

"We know from previous studies that older paternal age is a risk factor for autism," said Emma Frans from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, who co-led the research with Reichenberg.

"This study goes beyond that and suggests that older grand-paternal age is also a risk factor for autism, suggesting that risk factors for autism can build up through generations."

The researchers said that while the mechanism behind the link to older fathers and grandfathers is not clear, it may be explained by mutations occurring in sperm cells over time.

Each time sperm cells divide new mutations can be introduced into a person's genome.

While most genetic mutations do not result in a child developing autism, the researchers said their findings suggest some 'silent' mutations pass on through healthy children and may influence the risk of future generations developing autism.

They also said genetic risk could accumulate over generations, or could interact with other risk factors, until it reaches a particular threshold and prompts autism in a child.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/older-fathers-more-likely-autistic-grandchildren-200401290.html

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