Airline attack could lead to more scanners

WASHINGTON — The Christmas Day attack on a jetliner over Detroit, combined with technological improvements to protect people’s sense of modesty, could lead to dramatically wider use of full-body scanners that can see through travelers’ clothing.
Dutch officials said Wednesday they will immediately begin using the machines at Amsterdam’s airport, … Read more >>>.

Medicare officials plan for health stimulus funds

WASHINGTON — Medicare officials on Wednesday detailed plans to distribute billions of dollars in stimulus to upgrade the nation’s paper medical records to electronic files.
Under the proposal, doctors and hospitals that keep updated electronic medical records of their patients could receive bonus payments for using the software.
Officials for the …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Medicare officials detail plan for stimulus money for hospitals, doctors digitizing records.

Football, ‘Simpsons’ at risk in Fox cable dispute

LOS ANGELES — Bart Simpson and the Sugar Bowl game could disappear from the TVs of Time Warner Cable subscribers in New York, Los Angeles and other markets in a bitter dispute over fees that the Fox television network is demanding.
As a midnight Thursday deadline approaches, Time Warner …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Football, ‘Simpsons’ at risk as Fox, Time Warner Cable near Thursday contract expiration.

Questions and answers about full-body scanners

WASHINGTON — Travelers still getting used to removing their shoes in public and pouring shampoo into tiny bottles may soon have to adjust to something new in the airport security line — giant machines that that scan their bodies for anything a terrorist might use to cause harm during a … Original article on : Full-body airport security scanners: What are they, where are they and how do they work?.

Solution to killer superbug found in Norway

OSLO, Norway — Aker University Hospital is a dingy place to heal. The floors are streaked and scratched. A light layer of dust coats the blood pressure monitors. A faint stench of urine and bleach wafts from a pile of soiled bedsheets dropped in a corner.
Look closer, however, at …. Original article  : Norway finds way to control infection that kills thousands elsewhere: Cut antibiotics.

Fox retrenches in Time Warner Cable dispute

LOS ANGELES — It appears Fox won’t accept Time Warner Cable’s offer to carry its broadcast signal while a fee dispute continues.
Chase Carey, chief operating officer of Fox owner News Corp., told staff in a memo that a signal interruption was likely when the current deal over fees expires … Read more »»».

Texting while driving, smoking target of ‘10 laws

MADISON, Wis. — Texting while driving, smoking in public and cooking with artery-clogging trans fats will be that much harder under a bevy of state laws set to take effect around the country on Friday.
Faced with huge budget shortfalls and little extra money to throw around, state lawmakers …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Texting while driving, public smoking, cooking with trans fats targeted in states’ 2010 laws.

Software firm buys building, expands in Mass.

NATICK, Mass. — MathWorks Inc. has purchased an office building in Natick for $30.8 million, part of an expansion that could create hundreds of new jobs at the engineering software firm.
The 170,000-square-foot building is located in the same Apple Hill complex as the company’s headquarters. The building was purchased …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Engineering software firm in Massachusetts purchases building, seeks further expansion.

Belarus to toughen control over Internet
MINSK, Belarus — Belarus’ authoritarian leader is promising to toughen regulation of the Internet and its users in an apparent effort to exert control over the last fully free medium in the former Soviet state.

“We will identify any person who disseminates lies and dirt, and will make them answer strictly …. Original article  : Belarus president pledges to toughen control over Internet and Web users.

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Nvidia, Marvell shares rise after Kaufman upgrade
NEW YORK — Shares Nvidia Corp. and Marvell Technology Group Ltd. rose Wednesday as Kaufman Bros. upgraded the chip makers, saying both should benefit from improving demand for personal computers.
Nvidia was up 46 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $18.48 in morning trading, while Marvell rose 55 cents, … Read more : Nvidia, Marvell shares rise after Kaufman upgrade; analyst sees better PC demand.

Guide to breaking cell phone security revealed

FRANKFURT — A German security expert has raised the ire of the cell phone industry after he and a group of researchers posted online a how-to guide for cracking the encryption that keeps the calls of billions of cell phone users secret.
Karsten Nohl, 28, told The Associated Press this …. Read the original article  : here.

Security expert posts guide to cracking phone code

FRANKFURT — A German security expert has raised the ire of the wireless industry after he and group of researchers posted a how-to guide for cracking the encryption that keeps the phone calls of millions of people secret.
Karsten Nohl, 28, tells The Associated Press the purpose of showing … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Security expert puts guide to cracking GSM phone code on line, says aim is improving security.

Ill. to use mortgage database licensing system

CHICAGO — Illinois is embracing a licensing database that officials say will help ensure the competency of mortgage loan professionals.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said it’ll start to use the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System for license applications and renewals on Jan. 4.
About 30 states are currently …. Read the original article  : Illinois to begin using national mortgage licensing system to help monitor industry.

Ford, MIT to study driver stress
DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. and researchers with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are studying ways technology can strengthen the connection between the driver and the vehicle and reduce stress from behind the wheel.

The automaker is working with MIT to develop vehicles with more features that put the driver …. Read the original article  : here.

ITC rejects Tessera patent claims
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Tessera Technologies Inc. says the U.S. agency investigating its patent infringement claims has affirmed that Tessera patents are valid — but not that other companies have violated them.

The news sent Tessera shares down $2.38, or 10 percent, to $21.51 in premarket trading.
The company, which licenses miniaturization technology … Read this article on Gaea Times at : ITC rejects Tessera patent claims against memory chip makers; shares drop 10 percent.

Aging and inflammation: etiological culprits of cancer by Aamir Ahmad and 5 co-authors, including Fazlul H Sarkar, Curr Aging Sci 2009(Dec); 2(3): 174-86 [PubMed Citation][Full text in PMC]. Excerpt from the full text:

In the context of cancer, like normal tissues, various cancerous tissues also harbor a minor population of cells with enormous self-renewal and tumor-initiating capacity. Such cells are referred to as tumor-initiating cells or cancer stem cells, which offer an attractive target for cancer therapy [136] provided that normal stem cells are spared from the side effects of therapy. A number of molecular events that mark stem cell aging also occur in tumors in the elderly [134] and, as such, play important roles in the processes of cancer and aging, suggesting that these two processes are intertwined.

Comment: The full text of this article is available via PubMed Central (PMC). However, if accessed at the website of Current Aging Science (a journal of Bentham Science Publishers), the full text can only be purchased, and prior registration is required.For some background information about this publisher, see an entry in the French version of Wikipedia [Google translation into English]. (This entry is currently not available in the English version of Wikipedia).

A Newcastle University professor receives a knighthood in the New Year Honours list for his research into human genetics.

 Overview:

Yahoo LAUNHcast provides free and fee based music stream as per your rating. As you sign on the application, it asks you favorite music and favorite singer. Based upon that information, it plays the music to you. You can also rate a song during the Play. It influences the decision about what song will be …. Source article  : A Review Of Yahoo LAUNCHcast.

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YRC Worldwide, Spectranetics, Palm are movers
NEW YORK — The following stocks were among those that moved substantially or traded heavily Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market:
NYSE:
Marshall & Ilsley, up 5 cents at $5.50
The regional bank is cutting out cash bonuses for its executives in 2009 to …. Source  : Gaea News Network.