RIYADH (Reuters) - Some Internet-based communication tools such as Skype and Whatsapp flout Saudi Arabia's telecom laws, the regulator said on Sunday, instructing telecom operators to quickly ensure these services comply.
The announcement from the kingdom's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) follows local newspaper reports last week that claimed the government had asked telecom companies to look at ways to monitor or block these services.
"It has become evident that some communication applications through (the) Internet don't meet regulatory requirements," CITC said in a statement on its website.
"The authority has informed licensed (telecom) providers of the need to work with the developers of these applications to quickly meet these requirements."
The statement listed Voice over IP (VoIP) providers Skype and Viber as well as Internet-based instant messaging service Whatsapp.
But it did not state what laws these applications had flouted, how long they would be given to comply with the regulations or what action would be taken if they failed to heed the instruction.
The CITC said it was acting to "protect society from any negative aspects that could harm the public interest".
Saudi's three mobile operators - Saudi Telecom Co, Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) and Zain Saudi - were not immediately available for comment.
The kingdom appears to making a greater push for greater control over cyberspace as Internet and smart phone usage soars, in part due to strict laws that limit opportunities for people to mix.
Mobile penetration was 188 percent by the end of 2012, CITC data shows. Saudi now has 15.8 million Internet subscribers and the average user watches three times as many online videos per day as counterparts in the United States, according to YouTube.
On Saturday, the English-language Arab News daily said Saudi Arabia may try to end anonymity for Twitter users in the country by limiting access to the site to people who register their identification documents, although it was unclear how such restrictions could be enforced.
Telecom operators can block content and access to particular sites, but this becomes more difficult if a user already has the application installed on a device.
For example, Skype and other foreign-based VoIP providers are widely used in the neighboring United Arab Emirates, despite an official ban, with residents downloading the software via virtual private networks or while abroad. Once installed, these can be used inside the UAE.
(Reporting by Marwa Rashad and Reem Shamseddine; Writing by Matt Smith; Editing by Catherine Evans)
By Jason Kandel, Samantha Tata and Christina Cocca, NBCLosAngeles.com
Investigators named a 30-year-old?parolee as wanted in the case of a missing 10-year-old Northridge girl, who turned up barefoot and wounded in Woodland Hills last week.
Tobias Dustin Summers, who has a distinct tattoo on his right arm (pictured below), is wanted in connection with the girl's abduction, LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese said at a Saturday afternoon news conference.
Summers has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2002, Albanese said. He was released from prison in July 2012 under California?s AB 109, an initiative aimed at easing prison overcrowding, and was on "post-supervised release,"?Albanese said.
Probation officials believe the 30-year-old is a transient known to frequent the North Hollywood and Devonshire areas. Summers is about 6 feet tall, 160 pounds, with blue eyes and?cropped blond hair. He not a registered sex offender and authorities said there is no indication that the victim or her family knows the suspect.
"We really need the public's help to take this guy into custody. If they see him, we can't emphasize enough, call 911," LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith said.
Investigators said Summers is the only person they are looking for right now, though the victim told detectives that two men took her from her bedroom, police said last week.
Detectives from LAPD?s Robbery-Homicide Division are petitioning the court for an arrest warrant.
The FBI?is assisting in the investigation. Federal authorities said they are prepared to issue a federal warrant for Summers' arrest if he leaves California.
"Should he leave the state, we will have multitude of resources throughout the United States and international, if necessary, to take him into custody," Bill Lewis, of the FBI?s Los Angeles division, said.
The case involves a 10-year-old girl who was kidnapped from her home March 27 between 1 and 3:30 a.m.
She was taken to an abandoned home near a storage facility in Chatsworth before being dropped off at a Kaiser hospital in Woodland Hills.
She walked?about a mile to?a?Starbucks where a passerby recognized her from media reports and alerted police.
She was found barefoot and with bruises and cuts on her face at 3 p.m. the same day she went missing, police said.
Since the girl has been found, NBC4 is no longer identifying the girl by name or in images that had been released by authorities.
The girl told investigators two men she did not know took her from her home and held her for more than 10 hours before dropping her off.
She said she rode in a black pickup truck, which police found during a search of a Bekins A-1 Moving Solutions yard in Chatsworth, police said.
Police were searching for a second vehicle they believe was used in the case.
Police -- working with the FBI -- fanned out across the San Fernando Valley, to conduct interviews and search locations where the girl said she believed she was taken with the hope of finding the men responsible.
As many as 20 detectives were believed to be working on the case. Police established a tipline for people to provide information about the investigation:?213-486-6890.
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Louisville coach Rick Pitino is baffled by Russ Smith.
Not by the star guard himself, who is managing to outdo himself each time he steps on the court. No, Pitino doesn't understand why the rest of the country isn't as impressed with Smith as he ? and every opponent who's faced him ? is.
"I look at (player of the year) lists, and I don't see Russ Smith. I don't see him on the All-America teams," Pitino said. "I'm baffled, just baffled, because it wasn't like he was a Johnny-come-lately. He carried us on his back to a Final Four last year."
And he's one game from doing it again.
With Louisville having a rare off night, Smith lifted the Cardinals to a 77-69 victory over Oregon on Friday that put them in the Midwest Region finals. He matched his career high of 31 points, including seven during what would wind up being the game's decisive run.
Smith is averaging 27 points through the first three games of the tournament.
"Russ Smith is a talented young man," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "When he got going, we didn't have an answer."
Louisville (32-5) plays Duke on Sunday, the first time Pitino and Mike Krzyzewski have met in a regional final since Christian Laettner's shot in 1992.
The 12th-seeded Ducks managed to make a game of it, though, which is more than most of Louisville's recent opponents can say.
After Louisville went up 66-48 with 9:01 left, Oregon made six straight field goals to close to 70-64. But Kevin Ware scored on a layup and Chane Behanan threw down a monstrous dunk to put the game out of reach.
Ware finished with 11, topping his previous career best by one, and Gorgui Dieng had 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots.
E.J. Singler's 15 points led five Ducks in double figures. But Damyean Dotson had an off night, held without a field goal until five minutes were gone in the second half, and Oregon could never recover from its poor start.
Early foul trouble didn't help, with Johnathan Loyd picking up his third before halftime and Dominic Artis and Carlos Emory playing the last six minutes of the half with two.
"If it wasn't for the beginning, it would have been a completely different game," Loyd said. "We just came out, we weren't ready and we got smacked. If we were playing the way were playing in the second half the whole game, it's a completely different story."
The Cardinals were barely tested in either of their first two games in the NCAA tournament, beating North Carolina A&T by 31 and Colorado State by 26. They set an NCAA tournament record with 20 steals against A&T, outrebounded one of the country's best rebounding teams in Colorado State and left both teams with ugly shooting lines.
But a hacking cough that Smith has had the last few days is making its way around the Louisville team, and it was clear from the start this wasn't going to be another juggernaut performance by the Cardinals.
Peyton Siva spent the last 15:19 of the first half on the bench after picking up his second foul, and Louisville wasn't nearly as stingy on defense as it's been. The Cardinals (13) actually had more turnovers than the Ducks (12), and Oregon is only the third team to shoot 44 percent or better during Louisville's winning streak.
Thanks to Smith, however, the Cardinals finished like they always do lately: with a win.
After Siva went out, Smith hit a 3 to spark a 14-3 run that put Louisville up 24-8. When he capped the spurt with a layup, it was Russ Smith 9, Oregon 8.
"We really dug ourselves a big hole," Singler said. "We tried to figure back as much as possible, but Louisville's a really, really good team. They just played better than us today."
But the Ducks aren't a team that gives in.
After losing six of their last 11 regular-season games, the Ducks have been on a tear. They won the Pac-12 tournament, then upset Oklahoma State and Saint Louis last weekend.
They went on a 16-4 run that cut Louisville's lead to six points, the smallest it had been since the opening minutes of the game.
"We watched film and seen how they run, and we kind of figured out that would happen," Chane Behanan said.
Instead of panicking, the Cardinals regrouped and regained control. After Ware and Behanan's baskets, Smith shot 3-of-4 from the line to seal the win.
"Coach has been telling me to fight through (his cold), fight through it, dig in. My teammates as well," Smith said. "We're fighting through it and just doing whatever we can to get a win."
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis has won over many hearts and minds with his simple style and focus on serving the world's poorest, but he has devastated traditionalist Catholics who adored his predecessor, Benedict XVI, for restoring much of the traditional pomp to the papacy.
Francis' decision to disregard church law and wash the feet of two girls - a Serbian Muslim and an Italian Catholic - during a Holy Thursday ritual has become something of the final straw, evidence that Francis has little or no interest in one of the key priorities of Benedict's papacy: reviving the pre-Vatican II traditions of the Catholic Church.
One of the most-read traditionalist blogs, "Rorate Caeli," reacted to the foot-washing ceremony by declaring the death of Benedict's eight-year project to correct what he considered the botched interpretations of the Second Vatican Council's modernizing reforms.
"The official end of the reform of the reform - by example," ''Rorate Caeli" lamented in its report on Francis' Holy Thursday ritual.
A like-minded commentator in Francis' native Argentina, Marcelo Gonzalez at International Catholic Panorama, reacted to Francis' election with this phrase: "The Horror." Gonzalez's beef? While serving as the archbishop of Buenos Aires, the then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio's efforts to revive the old Latin Mass so dear to Benedict and traditionalists were "non-existent."
Virtually everything he has done since being elected pope, every gesture, every decision, has rankled traditionalists in one way or another.
The night he was chosen pope, March 13, Francis emerged from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica without the ermine-rimmed red velvet cape, or mozzetta, used by popes past for official duties, wearing instead the simple white cassock of the papacy. The cape has since come to symbolize his rejection of the trappings of the papacy and to some degree the pontificate of Benedict XVI, since the German pontiff relished in resurrecting many of the liturgical vestments of his predecessors.
Francis also received the cardinals' pledges of obedience after his election not from a chair on a pedestal as popes normally do but rather standing, on their same level. For traditionalists who fondly recall the days when popes were carried on a sedan chair, that may have stung. In the days since, he has called for "intensified" dialogue with Islam - a gesture that rubs traditionalists the wrong way because they view such a heavy focus on interfaith dialogue as a sign of religious relativism.
Francis may have rubbed salt into the wounds with his comments at the Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum, which re-enacts Jesus Christ's crucifixion, praising "the friendship of our Muslim brothers and sisters" during a prayer ceremony that recalled the suffering of Christians in the Middle East.
Francis also raised traditional eyebrows when he refused the golden pectoral cross offered to him right after his election by Monsignor Guido Marini, the Vatican's liturgy guru who under Benedict became the symbol of Benedict's effort to restore the Gregorian chant and heavy silk brocaded vestments of the pre-Vatican II liturgy to papal Masses.
Marini has gamely stayed by Francis' side as the new pope puts his own stamp on Vatican Masses with no-nonsense vestments and easy off-the-cuff homilies. But there is widespread expectation that Francis will soon name a new master of liturgical ceremonies more in line with his priorities of bringing the church and its message of love and service to ordinary people without the "high church" trappings of his predecessor.
There were certainly none of those trappings on display Thursday at the Casal del Marmo juvenile detention facility in Rome, where the 76-year-old Francis got down on his knees to wash and kiss the feet of 12 inmates, two of them women. The rite re-enacts Jesus' washing of the feet of his 12 apostles during the Last Supper before his crucifixion, a sign of his love and service to them.
The church's liturgical law holds that only men can participate in the rite, given that Jesus' apostles were all male. Priests and bishops have routinely petitioned for exemptions to include women, but the law is clear.
Francis, however, is the church's chief lawmaker, so in theory he can do whatever he wants.
"The pope does not need anybody's permission to make exceptions to how ecclesiastical law relates to him," noted conservative columnist Jimmy Akin in the National Catholic Register. But Akin echoed concerns raised by canon lawyer Edward Peters, an adviser to the Vatican's high court, that Francis was setting a "questionable example" by simply ignoring the church's own rules.
"People naturally imitate their leader. That's the whole point behind Jesus washing the disciples' feet. He was explicitly and intentionally setting an example for them," he said. "Pope Francis knows that he is setting an example."
The inclusion of women in the rite is problematic for some because it could be seen as an opening of sorts to women's ordination. The Catholic Church restricts the priesthood to men, arguing that Jesus and his 12 apostles were male.
Francis is clearly opposed to women's ordination. But by washing the feet of women, he jolted traditionalists who for years have been unbending in insisting that the ritual is for men only and proudly holding up as evidence documentation from the Vatican's liturgy office saying so.
"If someone is washing the feet of any females ... he is in violation of the Holy Thursday rubrics," Peters wrote in a 2006 article that he reposted earlier this month on his blog.
In the face of the pope doing that very thing, Peters and many conservative and traditionalist commentators have found themselves trying to put the best face on a situation they clearly don't like yet can't do much about lest they be openly voicing dissent with the pope.
By Thursday evening, Peters was saying that Francis had merely "disregarded" the law - not violated it.
The Rev. John Zuhlsdorf, a traditionalist blogger who has never shied from picking fights with priests, bishops or cardinals when liturgical abuses are concerned, had to measure his comments when the purported abuser was the pope himself.
"Before liberals and traditionalists both have a spittle-flecked nutty, each for their own reasons, try to figure out what he is trying to do," Zuhlsdorf wrote in a conciliatory piece.
But, in characteristic form, he added: "What liberals forget in their present crowing is that even as Francis makes himself - and the church - more popular by projecting (a) compassionate image, he will simultaneously make it harder for them to criticize him when he reaffirms the doctrinal points they want him to overturn."
One of the key barometers of how traditionalists view Francis concerns his take on the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass. The Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that brought the church into the modern world, allowed the celebration of the Mass in the vernacular rather than Latin. In the decades that followed, the so-called Tridentine Rite fell out of use almost entirely.
Traditionalist Catholics who were attached to the old rite blame many of the ills afflicting the Catholic Church today - a drop in priestly vocations, empty pews in Europe and beyond - on the liturgical abuses that they say have proliferated with the celebration of the new form of Mass.
In a bid to reach out to them, Benedict in 2007 relaxed restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass. The move was aimed also at reconciling with a group of schismatic traditionalists, the Society of St. Pius X, who split from Rome precisely over the Vatican II reforms, in particular its call for Mass in the vernacular and outreach to other religions, especially Judaism and Islam.
Benedict took extraordinary measures to bring the society back under Rome's wing during his pontificate, but negotiations stalled.
The society has understandably reacted coolly to Francis' election, reminding the pope that his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, was told by Christ to go and "rebuild my church." For the society, that means rebuilding it in its own, pre-Vatican II vision.
The head of the society for South America, the Rev. Christian Bouchacourt, was less than generous in his assessment of Francis.
"He cultivates a militant humility, but can prove humiliating for the church," Bouchacourt said in a recent article, criticizing the "dilapidated" state of the clergy in Buenos Aires and the "disaster" of its seminary. "With him, we risk to see once again the Masses of Paul VI's pontificate, a far cry from Benedict XVI's efforts to restore to their honor the worthy liturgical ceremonies."
___
Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
If you think using the Leap Motion controller for playing air guitar and typing without a keyboard was cool, try using it to control a NASA rover. Victor Luo and Jeff Norris from NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab got on stage at the Game Developers Conference here in San Francisco to do just that with the ATHLETE(All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer), which was located 383 miles away in Pasadena. As Luo waved his hand over the sensor, the robot moved in kind, reacting to the subtle movements of his fingers and wrists, wowing the crowd that watched it over a projected Google+ Hangout.
We spoke with Luo and Norris after the panel to gain further insight into the project. As Luo explains, one of JPL's main goals is to build tools to control robots needed for space exploration. Seeing as the gaming industry is already rife with user-friendly controllers ripe for the plucking, it made sense to harness them for the job. "We're very used to the bleeding edge," he said. "From the Kinect to the PlayStation Move, they represent major investments into usability." Hit the jump for our impressions of the simulation software, a look at JPL's grander goal and for video clips of the demo and panel itself.
This post is part of our reader-submitted guest post series, My Path to Motherhood. For more about the series,?read this post. To read all posts in the series,?click here.
I touched my 39-week pregnant belly, placing both hands beneath the swelling bump. It was the night before I was to be induced and I couldn?t sleep.
My soon-to-be son thumped a foot from the inside and I smiled. I?ll hold you tomorrow, I thought. After 39 long weeks I would finally see your eyes. My pregnancy included nausea for seventeen weeks. I feared I would lose you. Unexpected bleeding when I found out I had placenta previa. I feared I would lose you. An emergency room visit and diagnosis of the flu. I feared I would lose you.
My first pregnancy was painful and exhausting. But it was also the most beautiful experience of anticipation I have ever felt.
Everyone I knew that had kids talked about this phenomenon that happened when you became a mother. They told me that the bond was instant. They discussed the births of their children as if they were monumental, life-changing moments. I hoped mine would be like that.
We?ve all seen births happen on television and in the movies. This beautiful moment happens when the brand new baby is placed in their mother?s arms pink and screaming. That?s what I pictured. Half the fun and angst is not knowing what your birth will be like. We all want control and we all think we?ll have it. But it doesn?t always end up that way.
We arrived at the hospital just as the sun was rising for a routine induction. I was already four centimeters dilated and my OB told me that she would just need to break my bag of waters and we would be off on our birthing adventure! She was right. The second they broke my water I began feeling intense contractions.
The epidural was placed almost immediately and I enjoyed my time laboring with friends and family circulating our hospital room. Hours later I was ready to push. I had always imagined pushing for maybe thirty minutes tops. Unfortunately that would not be the case for me. Two and a half hours later I was screaming in pain, begging for the doctor to get the baby out of me. I was physically exhausted and didn?t know how much more I could take.
Suddenly the doctor told me to reach down and feel my son?s head. That?s all it took. I gave it my all on the next push. The biggest exertion of my life. And there he was. But I was surprised he was so blue.
I waited for him to cry. I watched as the doctor passed him off to a nurse. My eyes followed my son?s every move. They put him in the isolette. Precious seconds were passing and still I had yet to hear him cry. ?Why isn?t he crying?? I asked over and over and over again until a minute had passed and I was screaming the words. That?s when I realized he was not breathing. They began to resuscitate him.
The nurses pressed on my stomach trying to help me deliver the placenta. It hurt so badly as I lurched and cried for my son. Extra workers rushed into our room but it all happened as if I were in some dream sequence. Was this really happening? Was my son going to die as I lay on that hospital bed?
?We have to take him to the NICU,? a doctor in blue scrubs said. They whisked him away and I became hysterical.
Where was my moment? The one everyone had talked about? Why wasn?t I holding my son? It felt like an internal organ had been ripped from my body and I was dying. I couldn?t breathe. I couldn?t see from the tears. I grabbed onto my husband and cried, ?Please don?t let our baby die.?
Then I went somewhere deep inside me. To a place where I prayed for the first time in a long time. I prayed to God to spare my son. If you have to take someone . . . take me instead, I asked.
That?s when it happened. I didn?t become a mother in a peaceful environment. I became a mother while experiencing the most terrifying moments of my life. I became a mother through screams and tears and the fear that I would never hold my son alive. I became a mother as I begged God to let him live.
Since we hadn?t heard anything in an hour, the most horrific hour of our lives, my husband went to the NICU to check in on the situation. I was not expecting what would come next.
My husband walked through the door with our perfect, pink and very alive son. I reached out my arms as far as they would go and my son was placed gently into my arms as I cried harder than I ever have.
He was alive. He was spared. I finally knew what it was like to be a mother. After all the waiting, anticipation and wonderment, I knew what it was like to want to die for your child.
Our son is now a healthy four and a half-year-old. But I must say, enduring such a traumatic birth helped to shape the mother I am today. I try to live in the moment and appreciate him even when he is pushing the limits. I know how very close we came to losing him. Those scary memories have given me powerful perspective. I will never forget the moment I became a mother. Even though it was not the birth I expected it made me the mother I am today.
* * * * *
Molly Shalz is a working mama to two beautiful and sweet boys born 21 months apart. Yes, she survived a stint of two under two! Molly has a degree in journalism and began blogging in 2006 when she realized how much she missed writing. A blog seemed like a convenient space to continue journaling.
Over the span of five years, Molly?s blog has gained a loyal readership. She was nominated as one of The Bump?s Best Working Mom Blogs. Her writing also earned her a coveted BlogHer Voice of the Year award. She continues to build her audience by writing passionately about her journey through motherhood while also suffering with depression. Molly is also writing her first novel.?
Tagged as: #mypathtomotherhood, birth, Guest Post, path to motherhood, pregnancy
Question: is the following chant concerning Rio Ferdinand and his brother Anton racist or banter?
?Build a bonfire,?
Build a bonfire,
Put Rio on the top,
Put Anton in the middle,
Then burn the f****** lot.?
The chant ? allegedly sung by England supporters during last Friday?s World Cup Qualifier against San Marino ? was reported to FIFA by Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE), a pan-European entity whose goal is to rid racism from football.
FARE, headed by Piara Powar, was not present at the game to hear the chant because apparently San Marino was not a ?high risk? match for racism. But FARE nevertheless?chose to file the report based on information from people who were present at the match (in other words, it appears the group?s argument is based entirely on hearsay). The group also reported racist or xenophobic incidents at Croatia v. Serbia and Poland v. Ukraine, matches where members were present.
FIFA will now review the report and decide whether action should be taken against England. If the governing body decides that FARE?s report has merit, England will be punished with the ultimate sanction potentially requiring the Three Lions to play a World Cup qualifier behind closed doors.
Powar explained why his group believes the song to be racist. ?It refers to the racist abuse Rio Ferdinand received, along with his brother Anton.?We don?t make the judgement. We send a report to FIFA but in the end its their decision whether they open proceedings or not. And whether they issue a fine or not.
?It?s not really the sort of thing we are generally attuned to looking at ? fans abusing players of their own country who may not have been picked.?Nevertheless if it happens at a game, even if the focus of the abuse isn?t there it?s still happening.
?One of the things we want to underline straight off is that sometimes racism doesn?t only take the form of monkey chants or bananas being thrown. Sometimes there are things that are more subtle at play.
?In the end we are not responsible for making a decision on whether England fans are guilty of racism here but we do have a duty to report things that are said to us because individuals have reported them as racist or xenophobic within the context.?
Rio Ferdinand took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the news. ?You expect and accept banter from fans on the terraces as it?s part of what makes the game great, but racism is not banter and from your own fans. WOW.
?Always a small minority who ruin it for others.?
The Manchester United defender was careful, however, to note that the?investigation?still needs to run its course.??Let?s not jump to conclusions and assume though as it might just have been banter. We?ll see after the investigation.?
England fans took to Sportsmail comment boards to express views?that?ranged from confusion to outrage. The fans? primary arguments are that 1) the song has been around a long time and 2) it was only directed at Rio due to his recent behavior.???Build a bonfire? is an old football chant and one used by miners about Thatcher,? said a fan by the name of ?ghanimah?. ?Given Rio?s behaviour it?s no wonder they sung about him but if that?s deemed racist then we should all pack our bags, go home and give up? Absolutely ludicrous.?
?Tone 827? echoed these sentiments. ?Dont get me wrong its a stupid chant and aimed at causing distress?.but is it really racist? Are we getting to the point where just a derogatory remark to someone who is of afro-carribean descent is deemed racism? As a white British man (who is absolutely NOT racist) its starting to grate a bit now?Rio was working for a TV channel covering the game, it was inevitable he was going to get some stick, at least he is being sensible about it and accepting that banter happens, lets not get to the point where nobody can say anything without being accused of racism even if it clearly is not.?
So what do you think? Is the chant ? within the context of being directed at Rio and Anton Ferdinand ? racist or just banter? Help decide by voting in ProSoccerTalk?s poll and share your views in the Comments below.
By now, you've probably heard that Emma Watson, the know-it-all wizard that won our hearts in the "Harry Potter" series and did it all over again in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," will be the recipient of the Trailblazer Award at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards. Now, if you're familiar with Watson and her [...]
A grand jury indicted a former superintendent and more than 30 other educators Friday in one of the nation's largest cheating scandals that rocked Atlanta's public schools.
The indictment named the former Superintendent Beverly Hall as well as several high-level administrators, principals and teachers. Hall faces charges including racketeering, false statements and theft. She retired just days before the 2011 probe was released, and has previously denied the allegations.
A state investigation in 2011 found cheating by nearly 180 educators in 44 Atlanta schools. Educators gave answers to students or changed answers on tests after they were turned in, investigators said. Teachers who tried to report it faced retaliation, creating a culture of "fear and intimidation" in the district.
The cheating came to light after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that some scores were statistically improbable.
The criminal investigation lasted 21 months and the allegations dated back to 2005.
Most of the 178 educators named in a special investigators' report resigned, retired, did not have their contracts renewed or appealed their dismissals and lost. Twenty-one educators have been reinstated and three await hearings to appeal their dismissals, said Atlanta Public Schools spokesman Stephen Alford.
The tests were the key measure the state used to determine whether it met the federal No Child Left Behind law. Schools with good test scores get extra federal dollars to spend in the classroom or on teacher bonuses.
Georgia last year was granted a waiver from the federal law, which allowed schools to count a host of measures in addition to standardized tests.
State schools Superintendent John Barge said last year he believes the state's new accountability system will remove the pressure to cheat on standardized tests because it won't be the sole way the state determines student growth. The pressure was part of what some educators in Atlanta Public Schools blamed for their cheating.
Alford, the schools spokesman, said the district was moving on from the scandal.
"This is a legal matter between the individuals implicated and the Fulton County District Attorney's office, and we will allow the legal process to take its course," he said before the indictment was announced. "Our focus is on providing a quality education to all of our students and supporting the 6,000 employees who come to work each day and make sound decisions about educating our students."
The Georgia Professional Standards Commission is responsible for licensing teachers and has been going through the complaints against teachers, said commission executive secretary Kelly Henson.
The commission considers cases as they are released from the district attorney's office. By Wednesday, they had received all but 26, Henson said.
The commission waits for the district attorneys before taking action on those cases because there is likely evidence that will be useful for the commission's own investigation.
"It is very routine for us to work with the DA's office and say we're not going to step on each other's toes and we'll work around their schedule," Henson said.
It's common for educators to receive professional sanctions from the commission but not be charged, Henson said. The commission only requires a finding of guilt based on good evidence of wrongdoing, while criminal prosecutions require guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Of the 159 cases that the commission already reviewed, 44 resulted in license revocations, 100 got two-year suspensions and nine were suspended for less than two years, Henson said. No action was taken against six of the educators.?
? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Contact: Aileen Sheehy press.office@sanger.ac.uk 0044-012-234-96928 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
DNA sequencing reveals evidence for Mycobacterium abscessus transmission between Cystic Fibrosis patients
Researchers at Papworth Hospital, the University of Cambridge and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered why a new type of dangerous bacterial infection has become more common among people with Cystic Fibrosis around the world.
Through their ground-breaking research, the team has developed new measures to protect Cystic Fibrosis patients.
People with Cystic Fibrosis are prone to serious infection in part because they have sticky mucus that can clog up their lungs. In recent years doctors have seen a global increase in the number of infections caused by the antibiotic-resistant bacterial species Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus). M. abscessus is distantly related to the bacterium that causes Tuberculosis and is usually found in water and soil. Until now, experts had thought it could not be passed from person to person.
"There has been worldwide concern about the rising number of M. abscessus infections in people with Cystic Fibrosis and anxiety that spread from person to person might be responsible," said Dr Andres Floto, Research Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Unit at Papworth Hospital, Principal Investigator at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge and lead author of the research published in The Lancet. "Our work has allowed us to lead the world in changing hospital infection control: we used state-of-the-art DNA sequencing technology to understand how the infection is being spread, which conventional techniques would have missed."
"Our results will help to protect patients from this serious infection."
The team used the latest methods to sequence the genomes of almost 170 isolates of M. abscessus from Cystic Fibrosis patients collected over a five-year period. By looking at the fine detail of the relationships between the bacterial genomes, to produce a 'family tree', the research team could determine where it was likely that infection had passed from one patient to another. They showed that, even with nationally recommended infection control measures in place, M. abscessus can spread between patients.
"We are increasingly able to use DNA studies to improve patient care," says Professor Julian Parkhill, Head of Pathogen Genomics at the Wellcome trust Sanger Institute. "By sequencing the complete genomes of bacteria we can accurately describe where they have emerged from and how they pass from person to person.
"This knowledge means that the clinical teams can develop new health measures to safeguard their patients. Our aim is to develop the best methods to detect and control infection."
This new information has led to rapid changes in how people with Cystic Fibrosis are cared for in hospital to protect them from this emerging threat.
###
For further information please contact:
Kate Lancaster, Papworth Hospital
Tel +44 (0)1480 364148
Mobile +44 (0) 07850 918627
Email Kate.lancaster@papworth.nhs.uk
Don Powell, Media Manager, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
Tel +44 (0)1223 496 928
Mobile +44 (0)7753 7753 97
Email press.office@sanger.ac.uk
Publication details
Josephine M. Bryant, Dorothy M. Grogono, Daniel Greaves, Juliet Foweraker, Iain
Roddick, Thomas Inns, Mark Reacher, Charles S. Haworth, Martin D. Curran, Simon R. Harris1, Sharon J. Peacock, Julian Parkhill1and R. Andres Floto. (2013) 'Evidence for transmission of Mycobacterium abscessus between Cystic Fibrosis patients from whole-genome sequencing.
Published in the Lancet online 29 March 2013. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60632-7,
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)60632-7/abstract
Funding
This work was supported by The Wellcome Trust, Papworth Hospital, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, The UK Health Protection Agency, Medical Research Council, and the UKCRC Translational Infection Research Initiative.
Participating centres
1. Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK
2. Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge, UK
3. Cambridge Centre for Lung Infection, Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK
4. Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, UK
5. Health Protection Agency, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
6. HPA Health Protection Agency East of England Regional Epidemiology Unit, UK
7. HPA, Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire Health Protection Unit, UK
8. Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP), Health Protection Agency, London, UK
The mission of the University of Cambridge is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. It admits the very best and brightest students, regardless of background, and offers one of the UK's most generous bursary schemes. The University of Cambridge's reputation for excellence is known internationally and reflects the scholastic achievements of its academics and students, as well as the world-class original research carried out by its staff. Some of the most significant scientific breakthroughs occurred at the University, including the splitting of the atom, invention of the jet engine and the discoveries of stem cells, plate tectonics, pulsars and the structure of DNA. From Isaac Newton to Stephen Hawking, the University has nurtured some of history's greatest minds and has produced more Nobel Prize winners than any other UK institution with over 80 laureates.
http://www.cam.ac.uk
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is one of the world's leading genome centres. Through its ability to conduct research at scale, it is able to engage in bold and long-term exploratory projects that are designed to influence and empower medical science globally. Institute research findings, generated through its own research programmes and through its leading role in international consortia, are being used to develop new diagnostics and treatments for human disease.
http://www.sanger.ac.uk
The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. We support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. Our breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. We are independent of both political and commercial interests.
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk
Papworth Hospital is an international centre of excellence for the treatment of heart and lung disease. Since carrying out the UK's first successful heart transplant in 1979, Papworth has established a reputation for leading edge research and innovation in cardiopulmonary medicine and surgery. As part of the Cambridge Centre for Lung Infection (CCLI), the Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre at Papworth Hospital was established in 1994 and now looks after over 280 adults with CF from throughout the Eastern Region. The service is supported by a multidisciplinary team including: four CF specialist consultants, three CF specialist nurses, a dedicated team of ward nurses, research nurses, specialist physiotherapists, dieticians, pharmacists, social workers, psychologist, psychiatrist, secretaries and managers. Research within the CCLI has focused on understanding how bacteria, particularly nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) cause infection and inflammatory lung damage.
http://www.papworthhospital.nhs.uk/ccli.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Aileen Sheehy press.office@sanger.ac.uk 0044-012-234-96928 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
DNA sequencing reveals evidence for Mycobacterium abscessus transmission between Cystic Fibrosis patients
Researchers at Papworth Hospital, the University of Cambridge and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered why a new type of dangerous bacterial infection has become more common among people with Cystic Fibrosis around the world.
Through their ground-breaking research, the team has developed new measures to protect Cystic Fibrosis patients.
People with Cystic Fibrosis are prone to serious infection in part because they have sticky mucus that can clog up their lungs. In recent years doctors have seen a global increase in the number of infections caused by the antibiotic-resistant bacterial species Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus). M. abscessus is distantly related to the bacterium that causes Tuberculosis and is usually found in water and soil. Until now, experts had thought it could not be passed from person to person.
"There has been worldwide concern about the rising number of M. abscessus infections in people with Cystic Fibrosis and anxiety that spread from person to person might be responsible," said Dr Andres Floto, Research Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Unit at Papworth Hospital, Principal Investigator at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge and lead author of the research published in The Lancet. "Our work has allowed us to lead the world in changing hospital infection control: we used state-of-the-art DNA sequencing technology to understand how the infection is being spread, which conventional techniques would have missed."
"Our results will help to protect patients from this serious infection."
The team used the latest methods to sequence the genomes of almost 170 isolates of M. abscessus from Cystic Fibrosis patients collected over a five-year period. By looking at the fine detail of the relationships between the bacterial genomes, to produce a 'family tree', the research team could determine where it was likely that infection had passed from one patient to another. They showed that, even with nationally recommended infection control measures in place, M. abscessus can spread between patients.
"We are increasingly able to use DNA studies to improve patient care," says Professor Julian Parkhill, Head of Pathogen Genomics at the Wellcome trust Sanger Institute. "By sequencing the complete genomes of bacteria we can accurately describe where they have emerged from and how they pass from person to person.
"This knowledge means that the clinical teams can develop new health measures to safeguard their patients. Our aim is to develop the best methods to detect and control infection."
This new information has led to rapid changes in how people with Cystic Fibrosis are cared for in hospital to protect them from this emerging threat.
###
For further information please contact:
Kate Lancaster, Papworth Hospital
Tel +44 (0)1480 364148
Mobile +44 (0) 07850 918627
Email Kate.lancaster@papworth.nhs.uk
Don Powell, Media Manager, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
Tel +44 (0)1223 496 928
Mobile +44 (0)7753 7753 97
Email press.office@sanger.ac.uk
Publication details
Josephine M. Bryant, Dorothy M. Grogono, Daniel Greaves, Juliet Foweraker, Iain
Roddick, Thomas Inns, Mark Reacher, Charles S. Haworth, Martin D. Curran, Simon R. Harris1, Sharon J. Peacock, Julian Parkhill1and R. Andres Floto. (2013) 'Evidence for transmission of Mycobacterium abscessus between Cystic Fibrosis patients from whole-genome sequencing.
Published in the Lancet online 29 March 2013. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60632-7,
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)60632-7/abstract
Funding
This work was supported by The Wellcome Trust, Papworth Hospital, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, The UK Health Protection Agency, Medical Research Council, and the UKCRC Translational Infection Research Initiative.
Participating centres
1. Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK
2. Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge, UK
3. Cambridge Centre for Lung Infection, Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK
4. Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, UK
5. Health Protection Agency, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
6. HPA Health Protection Agency East of England Regional Epidemiology Unit, UK
7. HPA, Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire Health Protection Unit, UK
8. Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP), Health Protection Agency, London, UK
The mission of the University of Cambridge is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. It admits the very best and brightest students, regardless of background, and offers one of the UK's most generous bursary schemes. The University of Cambridge's reputation for excellence is known internationally and reflects the scholastic achievements of its academics and students, as well as the world-class original research carried out by its staff. Some of the most significant scientific breakthroughs occurred at the University, including the splitting of the atom, invention of the jet engine and the discoveries of stem cells, plate tectonics, pulsars and the structure of DNA. From Isaac Newton to Stephen Hawking, the University has nurtured some of history's greatest minds and has produced more Nobel Prize winners than any other UK institution with over 80 laureates.
http://www.cam.ac.uk
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is one of the world's leading genome centres. Through its ability to conduct research at scale, it is able to engage in bold and long-term exploratory projects that are designed to influence and empower medical science globally. Institute research findings, generated through its own research programmes and through its leading role in international consortia, are being used to develop new diagnostics and treatments for human disease.
http://www.sanger.ac.uk
The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. We support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. Our breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. We are independent of both political and commercial interests.
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk
Papworth Hospital is an international centre of excellence for the treatment of heart and lung disease. Since carrying out the UK's first successful heart transplant in 1979, Papworth has established a reputation for leading edge research and innovation in cardiopulmonary medicine and surgery. As part of the Cambridge Centre for Lung Infection (CCLI), the Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre at Papworth Hospital was established in 1994 and now looks after over 280 adults with CF from throughout the Eastern Region. The service is supported by a multidisciplinary team including: four CF specialist consultants, three CF specialist nurses, a dedicated team of ward nurses, research nurses, specialist physiotherapists, dieticians, pharmacists, social workers, psychologist, psychiatrist, secretaries and managers. Research within the CCLI has focused on understanding how bacteria, particularly nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) cause infection and inflammatory lung damage.
http://www.papworthhospital.nhs.uk/ccli.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The genome of the western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii) one of the most widespread, abundant and well-studied turtles in the world, is published this week in Genome Biology. The data show that, like turtles themselves, the rate of genome evolution is extremely slow; turtle genomes evolve at a rate that is about a third that of the human genome and a fifth that of the python, the fastest lineage analyzed.
As a group, turtles are long-lived, can withstand low temperatures including freezing solid, can survive for long periods with no oxygen, and their sex is usually determined by the temperature at which their eggs develop rather than genetically. The painted turtle is most anoxia-tolerant vertebrate and can survive up to four months under water depending on the temperature. Turtles and tortoises are also the most endangered major vertebrate group on earth, with half of all species listed as endangered. This is the first turtle, and only the second non-avian reptile genome to be sequenced, and the analysis reveals some interesting insights about these bizarre features and adaptations, many of which are only known in turtles.
The western painted turtle is a freshwater species, and the most widespread turtle native to North America. Bradley Shaffer and colleagues place the western painted turtle genome into a comparative evolutionary context, showing that turtles are more closely related to birds and crocodilians than to any other vertebrates. They also find 19 genes in the brain and 23 in the heart whose expression is increased in low oxygen conditions ? including one whose expression changes nearly 130 fold. Further experiments on turtle hatchlings indicated that common microRNA was involved in freeze tolerance adaptation.
This work consistently indicates that common vertebrate regulatory networks, some of which have analogs in human diseases, are often involved in the western painted turtle achieving its extraordinary physiological capacities. The authors argue that the painted turtle may offer important insights into the management of a number of human health disorders, particularly those involved with anoxia and hypothermia.
###
BioMed Central: http://www.biomedcentral.com
Thanks to BioMed Central for this article.
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Spending about one hundred hours each month in the air, flight attendants are bombarded with pesticides, radiation, ozone, and any illnesses passengers carry on board. Now, new research shows that they also fly along with some of the highest levels ever measured for some flame retardants.
All nineteen commercial airliners in a new study had several flame retardants in their dust. And one chemical was measured at concentrations more than one hundred times higher in the airplane dust than in dust collected from homes and offices.
Heather Stapleton, an environmental chemist at Duke University and co-author of the new study, said they were "some of the highest measurements I've ever seen,? which ?suggests that exposure levels could be higher than one normally experiences in a car or the home environment.?
Whether flight attendants, pilots, and cleaning crews face any health risks from the chemicals is unknown. But researchers worry that long hours breathing recycled cabin air could have some effects, particularly in pregnant women.
"The additional exposure to the common passenger, occurring during travels, will be minimal. A question of concern is rather personnel in airplanes,? said ?ke Bergman, an environmental chemist at Stockholm University who has studied flame retardants on airliners.
Despite the sky-high levels of flame retardants in cabin air, a small study of flight attendants and pilots suggests they don't seem to have higher levels in their bodies than the general public. However, scientists say the most prevalent flame retardant on airplanes is difficult to measure in people's bodies.
Airplanes are full of combustible materials, and a mid-flight fire could be catastrophic, so the Federal Aviation Administration requires airplanes to pass strict fire-safety tests. Items on planes likely to contain brominated flame retardants include seats, carpets, walls, overhead bins, and pillows, according to the new study's x-ray fluorescence tests. Carpets contained the highest levels of bromine in the study.
Under fire in recent years, flame retardants have been building up in human bodies, including breast milk, around the world, and there is mounting evidence linking them to potential health effects, including reduced IQs, attention problems, and other neurological effects in children exposed in the womb or during infancy.
Chemical companies say that flame retardants are safe and that they are necessary to protect people from fires on airplanes. An August, 2005 crash of a passenger jet in Toronto, in which all 309 people aboard survived, is a prime example of how flame retardants can help keep people safe, said Bryan Goodman, spokesperson for the American Chemistry Council, an industry group.
"This new study, which does not report on any adverse health effects from the chemistries detected, should not make us lose sight of the fact that flame retardants can provide an important layer of protection to travelers, and, like all chemicals, they are subject to review by governmental bodies in the U.S. and around the world,? Goodman said.
Victoria Day, a spokesperson for Airlines for America, an industry group, said flame retardants "are essential" for safety and to comply with "strict FAA safety regulations."
"To maintain high air quality in aircraft cabins, today's jets have highly effective filters that are designed to remove virtually all particles, including dust, from the cabin air," Day said.
But some research suggests that flame retardants may not actually slow the spread of fires and may increase emissions of carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, two poisonous gases. "Fire is a significant concern when you're 10,000 feet in the air, but I think it boils down to the question of how effective are these chemicals at retarding fire?" Stapleton said. "The data I've seen recently for use in furniture has not convinced me that they would actually provide significant escape time."
Airliners manufactured by Boeing, Airbus, Canadair Regional, McDonnell Douglas, and Embraer were analyzed for flame retardants in the study by scientists from Harvard University, Duke, and two other institutions. Dust was vacuumed from the carpet and air return grilles on the wall near the floor of airplanes manufactured between 1986 and 2008.
Concentrations of DecaBDE, a brominated flame retardant known as Deca that is used mostly for electronics, wire and cable insulation, and textiles, were "orders of magnitude higher than what is typically found in U.S. homes and offices," the researchers wrote. For example, the average level in airplane dust was 495,000 parts per billion, while in home dust it was 4,500 and in office dust, 4,200.
Deca is being phased out by the end of this year in the United States. Little is known about what, if any, health risk it poses to humans. However, animal studies have linked Deca to damage to the liver, thyroid, reproductive system, and developing brain. Based on animal studies, it is classified as a possible human carcinogen by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
After a cross-country flight, the hands of nine flight attendants and one passenger contained high levels of Deca compared to the general public.
A newer flame retardant, HBCD, also was found in airplanes at higher levels than in US homes. Others were found at similar concentrations as homes.
One veteran flight attendant said that she and her colleagues are concerned that they are exposed to many contaminants and other health threats on airplanes. ?Of course I'm concerned. I just don?t know what to do other than to quit,? said the flight attendant, who has worked for a major airline for several decades. She asked that her name be withheld. "We get exposed to a lot of stuff...You're sitting in recycled air." On long flights, "by the end of the day that air is really used up."
Research in airplanes is relatively new. The first study to show that concentrations of brominated flame retardants (PBDEs) in dust from airplanes are higher than in homes was published in 2008. More recent studies have supported that finding, showing that PBDEs in cabin air during a flight are higher than in US and UK homes and similar to levels found in industrial environments.
Despite the high levels on aircraft, the amount of Deca and other PBDEs in the bodies of airline workers is about the same as the general public. A 2010 study did not find higher average levels of PBDEs in the blood of 30 Dallas-based flight attendants and pilots compared to the U.S. general public, though some individuals did have high levels.
"We found no evidence whatsoever of actual intake into the body above background level," said Arnold Schecter, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston. He said there could be some instances of elevated levels "in pilots, flight attendants, other workers inside of airplanes or even people flying in airplanes,however, it seems to us based on our research to be extremely remote."
But the scientists who conducted the new study aren?t convinced so they are now following up their aircraft study with tests of flight attendants. Results are expected later this year.
?Several flight attendants in [Schecter?s] study did have elevated serum concentrations?The weight of evidence certainly suggests that we need to continue to examine this,? said Joseph Allen, a Harvard School of Public Health research associate and lead author of the study.
Complicating matters, Deca, the most prevalent flame retardant on airplanes, is very difficult to detect in the body, Stapleton said. The amount that gets into the bloodstream is small, so the chemical can escape detection. Also, Deca is bulky so dust coated with it might not pass through the lungs to the bloodstream. If it does pass into blood, it doesn't stay there long, so unless a person is tested soon after a flight, researchers might miss spikes in concentrations.
Although no one knows if flame retardants or other chemicals play a role, flight attendants are more likely to have cancer and miscarriages than the general public.
Female flight attendants have a 29 percent higher risk of all cancers, including more than an 11-times greater risk of melanoma and a 35 percent higher risk of breast cancer than the general public. The longer a flight attendant has been working, the greater the risk of cancer, research suggests.
They also have a 62 percent higher risk of miscarriage and stillbirth than the general public, according to 2010 study, which says these risks "have been poorly studied in a limited number of investigations." The Association of Professional Flight Attendants says that their flight attendants are allowed to fly during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy.
The triggers of these health problems are still under investigation, and researchers are studying a number of possible culprits, such as radiation.
This report was originally published by EnvironmentalHealthNews.org
Mar. 27, 2013 ? A new analysis of data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggests that Saturn's moons and rings are gently worn vintage goods from around the time of our solar system's birth.
Though they are tinted on the surface from recent "pollution," these bodies date back more than 4 billion years. They are from around the time that the planetary bodies in our neighborhood began to form out of the protoplanetary nebula, the cloud of material still orbiting the sun after its ignition as a star. The paper, led by Gianrico Filacchione, a Cassini participating scientist at Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics, Rome, has just been published online by The Astrophysical Journal.
"Studying the Saturnian system helps us understand the chemical and physical evolution of our entire solar system," said Filacchione. "We know now that understanding this evolution requires not just studying a single moon or ring, but piecing together the relationships intertwining these bodies."
Data from Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIMS) have revealed how water ice and also colors -- which are the signs of non-water and organic materials --are distributed throughout the Saturnian system. The spectrometer's data in the visible part of the light spectrum show that coloring on the rings and moons generally is only skin-deep.
Using its infrared range, VIMS also detected abundant water ice -- too much to have been deposited by comets or other recent means. So the authors deduce that the water ices must have formed around the time of the birth of the solar system, because Saturn orbits the sun beyond the so-called "snow line." Out beyond the snow line, in the outer solar system where Saturn resides, the environment is conducive to preserving water ice, like a deep freezer. Inside the solar system's "snow line," the environment is much closer to the sun's warm glow, and ices and other volatiles dissipate more easily.
The colored patina on the ring particles and moons roughly corresponds to their location in the Saturn system. For Saturn's inner ring particles and moons, water-ice spray from the geyser moon Enceladus has a whitewashing effect.
Farther out, the scientists found that the surfaces of Saturn's moons generally were redder the farther they orbited from Saturn. Phoebe, one of Saturn's outer moons and an object thought to originate in the far-off Kuiper Belt, seems to be shedding reddish dust that eventually rouges the surface of nearby moons, such as Hyperion and Iapetus.
A rain of meteoroids from outside the system appears to have turned some parts of the main ring system -- notably the part of the main rings known as the B ring -- a subtle reddish hue. Scientists think the reddish color could be oxidized iron -- rust -- or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which could be progenitors of more complex organic molecules.
One of the big surprises from this research was the similar reddish coloring of the potato-shaped moon Prometheus and nearby ring particles. Other moons in the area were more whitish.
"The similar reddish tint suggests that Prometheus is constructed from material in Saturn's rings," said co-author Bonnie Buratti, a VIMS team member based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Scientists had been wondering whether ring particles could have stuck together to form moons -- since the dominant theory was that the rings basically came from satellites being broken up. The coloring gives us some solid proof that it can work the other way around, too."
"Observing the rings and moons with Cassini gives us an amazing bird's-eye view of the intricate processes at work in the Saturn system, and perhaps in the evolution of planetary systems as well," said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist, based at JPL. "What an object looks like and how it evolves depends a lot on location, location, location."
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
G. Filacchione, F. Capaccioni, R. N. Clark, P. D. Nicholson, D. P. Cruikshank, J. N. Cuzzi, J. I. Lunine, R. H. Brown, P. Cerroni, F. Tosi, M. Ciarniello, B. J. Buratti, M. M. Hedman, E. Flamini. The radial distribution of water ice and chromophores across Saturn's system. Astrophysical Journal, 2013; (accepted) [link]
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
By Simon Evans MEXICO CITY, March 27 (Reuters) - United States central defenders Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler went into Tuesday's game against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium with just two World Cup qualifying starts between them, but looked like they had been alongside each other for years in a spirited 0-0 draw. Gonzalez, making his third start in a qualifier and Besler making his first, held Mexico at bay in front of more than 95,000 fans as the U.S earned just their second point ever at the home of their arch-rivals. ...
CAIRO ? Egypt's naval forces captured three scuba divers who were trying to cut an undersea Internet cable in the Mediterranean on Wednesday, a military spokesman said. Telecommunications executives meanwhile blamed a weeklong Internet slowdown on damage caused to another cable by a ship.
Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said in a statement on his official Facebook page that divers were arrested while "cutting the undersea cable" of the country's main communications company, Telecom Egypt. The statement said they were caught on a speeding fishing boat just off the port city of Alexandria.
The statement was accompanied by a photo showing three young men, apparently Egyptian, staring up at the camera in what looks like an inflatable launch. It did not further have details on who they were or why they would have wanted to cut a cable.
Egypt's Internet services have been disrupted since March 22. Telecom Egypt executive manager Mohammed el-Nawawi told the private TV network CBC that the damage was caused by a ship, and there would be a full recovery on Thursday.
? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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