The Black Keys Blast Berlin

Band shakes up Germany's capital on Saturday night with blistering sold-out show.
By James Montgomery

The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach performs in Berlin on Saturday
Photo: Jakubaszek/ Getty Images

BERLIN — The Black Keys are not a particularly verbose band; they are, however, an incredibly voluminous one.

That lesson was learned during their blistering sold-out show Saturday in Germany's capital city, which was short on between-song banter — frontman Dan Auerbach offered just a few "All right, thank you so much"s and drummer Patrick Carney was basically mute (though he is pretty funny on Twitter) — and long on the kind of smash-n-bash blues/garage/soul that has become the Keys' near-patented racket.

Drawing heavily from their breakout Brothers album and the equally successful El Camino, the duo, aided by backing band for extra oomph, tore through 90-plus minutes of sweaty, snarling stuff, a full-bore workout for their triumphant run of U.S. arena shows, which kicks off in March.

(MTV News was in Berlin to catch up with the Black Keys for a special event we can't quite talk about just yet ...)

But on this night, they also seemed to take additional inspiration from the venue they were playing: the crumbling, cavernous Treptow Arena, whose brick-and-mortar shell doesn't disguise the fact that it once was a bus depot, an industrial bent that suited the Keys' Akron, Ohio, roots just fine (check their 2004 Rubber Factory album for proof). Auerbach's drawl on "Howlin' For You" seemed just a little more raw, the guitars on "Next Girl" and "Your Touch" roared with diesel-powered authority, and Carney's pounding on "Girl is on My Mind" recalled a chortling 8-cylinder engine.

In other words, the Black Keys seemed perfectly at home, even though they were anything but. New songs like "Gold on the Ceiling" and "Little Black Submarines" crackled with energy and attitude (Auerbach's solos in the latter did both), and older tunes like "Hold Me in Your Arms" — which made an appearance during their extended, mid-set session as just a two-piece — was streaked with soul (and some serious riffs, too). "Lonely Boy" careened along on a surf-tinged backbeat and fuzzy, gut-box guitars; "Tighten Up" was the rare moment of pure-pop sheen; and "Ten Cent Pistol" simmered with a smoky, sexy tension.

All of those moments were positively devoured by the German crowd, 9,000 hearty souls who queued up around the block hours before doors opened, and fended off some seriously frigid temperatures — and snow — with beery cheer. (Germany has some rather lax open-container laws, to say the very least.) But they took that frenzy to an even higher level during the Keys' encore, helping Auerbach hit the high notes on the swoony "Everlasting Light" (which was powered not only by the band, but a truly epic disco ball dangling overhead) and leaping for joy during "I Got Mine," which extended into a ringing, reverbed jam before winding to a close.

Of course, at the end, Auerbach simply thanked the crowd, Carney chucked his drumsticks into the audience, and the band exited stage right. The Black Keys may not be big on making speeches, but they don't have to be. On most nights — this one included, far from home but still swaggering — they get by on raw power alone.

Are you planning on seeing the Black Keys live? Let us know in the comments!

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• The Black Keys Perform In Berlin

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678112/black-keys-berlin-concert.jhtml

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Time short for Gingrich to close gap in Florida (AP)

MIAMI ? Newt Gingrich slammed GOP rival Mitt Romney on Sunday for the steady stream of attacks he likened to "carpet-bombing," trying to cut into the resurgent front-runner's lead in Florida in the dwindling hours before Tuesday's pivotal presidential primary.

Surging ahead in polls, Romney kept the pressure on Gingrich, casting him at an appearance in south Florida as an influence peddler and continuing his heavy advertising blitz questions the former House speaker's ethics.

In what has become a wildly unpredictable race, the momentum has swung back to Romney, staggered last weekend by Gingrich's victory in South Carolina. Romney has begun advertising in Nevada ahead of that state's caucuses next Saturday, illustrating the challenges ahead for Gingrich, who has pledged to push ahead no matter what happens in Florida.

An NBC News/Marist poll published Sunday showed Romney with support from 42 percent of likely Florida primary voters, compared with 27 percent for Gingrich.

Romney's campaign has dogged Gingrich at his own campaign stops, sending surrogates to remind reporters of Gingrich's House ethics probe in the 1990s and other episodes in his career.

Gingrich reacted defensively, accusing the former Massachusetts governor and a political committee that supports him of lying, and the GOP's establishment of allowing it.

"I don't know how you debate a person with civility if they're prepared to say things that are just plain factually false," Gingrich said during appearances on Sunday talk shows. "I think the Republican establishment believes it's OK to say and do virtually anything to stop a genuine insurgency from winning because they are very afraid of losing control of the old order."

Gingrich objected specifically to a Romney campaign ad that includes a 1997 NBC News report on the House's decision to discipline Gingrich, then speaker, for ethics charges.

Romney continued to paint Gingrich as part of the very Washington establishment he condemns and someone who had a role in the nation's economic problems.

"Your problem in Florida is that you worked for Freddie Mac at a time when Freddie Mac was not doing the right thing for the American people, and that you're selling influence in Washington at a time when we need people who will stand up for the truth in Washington," Romney told an audience in Naples.

Gingrich's consulting firm was paid more than $1.5 million by the federally-backed mortgage company over a period after he left Congress in 1999.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, trailing in Florida by a wide margin, stayed in his home state, where his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, was hospitalized. She has a genetic condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 18th chromosome. Aides said he would resume campaigning as soon as possible.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who has invested little in Florida, looked ahead to Nevada. The libertarian-leaning Paul is focusing more on gathering delegates in caucus states, where it's less expensive to campaign. But securing the nomination only through caucus states is a hard task.

The race began moving toward a two-person fight in South Carolina, and has grown more bitter and personal in Florida.

The intense effort by Romney to slow Gingrich is comparable his strategy against Gingrich in the closing month before Iowa's leadoff caucuses Jan. 3.

Gingrich led in Iowa polls, lifted by what were hailed as strong performances in televised debates, only to drop in the face of withering attacks by Romney, aided immensely by ads sponsored by a "super" political action committee run by former Romney aides.

Gingrich has responded by criticizing Romney's conservative credentials. Outside an evangelical Christian church in Lutz, Gingrich said he was the more loyal conservative on key social issues.

"This party is not going to nominate somebody who is a pro-abortion, pro-gun-control, pro-tax-increase liberal," Gingrich said. "It isn't going to happen."

But Gingrich, in appearances on Sunday news programs, returned to complaining about Romney's tactics, rather than emphasizing his own message as that of a conservative with a record of action in Congress.

"When we get to a positive idea campaign, I consistently win," Gingrich said. "It's only when he can mass money to focus on carpet-bombing with negative ads that he gains any traction at all."

Romney and the political committee that supports him had combined to spend some $6.8 million in ads criticizing Gingrich in the Florida campaign's final week. Gingrich and a super PAC that supports him were spending about one-third that amount.

Gingrich worked to portray himself as the insurgent outsider, collecting the endorsement of tea party favorite Herman Cain, whose own campaign for president foundered amid sexual harassment allegations.

It was unclear how aggressively Gingrich would be able to compete in states beyond Florida. The next televised debate, a format Gingrich has used to his advantage, is not until Feb. 22, more than three weeks away.

Romney already has campaigned in Nevada more than Gingrich, is advertising there, and stresses his business background in a state hard-hit by the economy. His campaign welcomed the Sunday endorsement of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest newspaper.

Michigan and Maine, states where Romney is well-positioned, also hold their contests in February. Arizona, a strong tea-party state where Gingrich could do well, has its primary Feb. 28.

___

Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Naples and Shannon McCaffrey in Lutz contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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Good Reads: America's decline, China's rise, the way forward

There's a new genre of American journalism called 'Decline Watch,' tracking America's slow steady decline and China's rise. Here's your daily cup of sunshine.

Most adult Americans today grew up with their feet on the terra firma of American superiority.

Skip to next paragraph

Faced with a cold war rival, the Soviet Union, Americans confidently paid taxes and sent their sons off to war in Korea, Vietnam, and oddly, Grenada, in order to keep communism at bay. From Washington, President Reagan proclaimed that it was ?morning in America,? which was great if you were a morning person, and Americans took the metaphor to heart. Intuitively, they knew that a free-market democracy would win against a soul-crushing authoritarian form of communism.

But now in the early part of the 21^st century, that terra firma has begun to shift underfoot. Intellectuals from developing countries have argued that democracy is not always suited for all cultures, particularly those with poor education systems. Terrorist groups have attacked America?s symbols of prosperity and strength???the Pentagon, the World Trade Center ? and even America?s friends have begun to doubt that America has the mettle to carry on. The global economic crisis rounded out a very tough decade, and on the stage that America once dominated, a few new players emerged. They were familiar faces: America?s old rivals, Russia and China, who have devised hybrid models of capitalism very different from America?s that seem to function better, at least for now.

Now, it?s estimated that within the next 6 years, China may overtake America as the largest economic power in the world.

The changing global mood has created an entirely new genre of American journalism. Call it ?Decline Watch.? The writers tend to be economists ? the same profession that made us believe in the superiority of American capitalism, and in the logic of tearing down borders to create a unified European economy ? and their arguments are persuasive, if a little self-defeating.

Consider Charles Duhigg and Keith Bradsher?s piece in the New York Times this week, called ?How the US Lost Out on iPhone Work.? The reasons why Apple and every other American corporation with access to a travel agent have relocated their manufacturing to China go far beyond mere cheap wages, the authors write.

And they?re right. As the Atlantic magazine?s Jordan Weissmann notes in a blog, China has an education system that produces 600,000 engineers a year, compared with the US?s 70,000. China has an industrial policy that subsidizes the building of factories at home and the sale of products abroad.

Here?s a point in the New York Times piece that took my breath away.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/fp_n84Swg_g/Good-Reads-America-s-decline-China-s-rise-the-way-forward

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That which does not kill yeast makes it stronger

ScienceDaily (Jan. 29, 2012) ? Cells trying to keep pace with constantly changing environmental conditions need to strike a fine balance between maintaining their genomic integrity and allowing enough genetic flexibility to adapt to inhospitable conditions. In their latest study, researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research were able to show that under stressful conditions yeast genomes become unstable, readily acquiring or losing whole chromosomes to enable rapid adaption.

The research, published in the January 29, 2012, advance online issue of Nature, demonstrates that stress itself can increase the pace of evolution by increasing the rate of chromosomal instability or aneuploidy. The observation of stress-induced chromosome instability casts the molecular mechanisms driving cellular evolution into a new perspective and may help explain how cancer cells elude the body's natural defense mechanisms or the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs.

"Cells employ intricate control mechanisms to maintain genomic stability and prevent abnormal chromosome numbers," says the study's leader, Stowers investigator Rong Li, Ph.D. "We found that under stress cellular mechanisms ensuring chromosome transmission fidelity are relaxed to allow the emergence of progeny cells with diverse aneuploid chromosome numbers, producing a population with large genetic variation."

Known as adaptive genetic change, the concept of stress-induced genetic variation first emerged in bacteria and departs from a long-held basic tenet of evolutionary theory, which holds that genetic diversity -- evolution's raw material from which natural selection picks the best choice under any given circumstance -- arises independently of hostile environmental conditions.

"From an evolutionary standpoint it is a very interesting finding," says graduate student and first author Guangbo Chen. "It shows how stress itself can help cells adapt to stress by inducing chromosomal instability."

Aneuploidy is most often associated with cancer and developmental defects and has recently been shown to reduce cellular fitness. Yet, an abnormal number of chromosomes is not necessarily a bad thing. Many wild yeast strains and their commercial cousins used to make bread or brew beer have adapted to their living environs by rejiggering the number of chromosomes they carry. "Euploid cells are optimized to thrive under 'normal' conditions," says Li. "In stressful environments aneuploid cells can quickly gain the upper hand when it comes to finding creative solutions to roadblocks they encounter in their environment."

After Li and her team had shown in an earlier Nature study that aneuploidy can confer a growth advantage on cells when they are exposed to many different types of stress conditions, the Stowers researchers wondered whether stress itself could increase the chromosome segregation error rate.

To find out, Chen exposed yeast cells to different chemicals that induce various types of general stress and assessed the loss of an artificial chromosome. This initial screen revealed that many stress conditions, including oxidative stress, increased the rate of chromosome loss ten to 20-fold, a rate typically observed when cells are treated with benomyl, a microtubule inhibitor that directly affects chromosome segregation.

The real surprise was radicicol, a drug that induces proteotoxic stress by inhibiting a chaperone protein, recalls Chen. "Even at a concentration that barely slows down growth, radicicol induced extremely high levels of chromosome instability within a very short period of time," he says.

Continued growth of yeast cells in the presence of radicicol led to the emergence of drug-resistant colonies that had acquired an additional copy of chromosome XV. Yeast cells pretreated briefly with radicicol to induce genomic instability also adapted more efficiently to the presence of other drugs including fluconazole, tunicamycin, or benomyl, when compared to euploid cells.

Interestingly, certain chromosome combinations dominated in colonies that were resistant to a specific drug. Fluconazole-resistant colonies typically gained an extra copy of chromosome VIII, tunicamycin-resistant colonies tended to lose chromosome XVI, while a majority of benomyl-resistant colonies got rid of chromosome XII. "This suggested to us that specific karyotypes are associated with resistance to certain drugs," says Chen.

Digging deeper, Chen grew tunicamycin-resistant yeast cells, which had adapted to the presence of the antibiotic by losing one copy of chromosome XVI, under drug-free conditions. Before long, colonies of two distinct sizes emerged. He quickly discovered that the faster growing colonies had regained the missing chromosome. By returning to a normal chromosome XVI number, these newly arisen euploid cells had acquired a distinctive growth advantage over their aneuploid neighbors. But most importantly, the fast growing yeast cells were no longer resistant to tunicamycin and thus clearly linking tunicamycin resistance to the loss of chromosome XVI.

Researchers who also contributed to the work include William D. Bradford and Chris W. Seidel both at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.

The study was funded in part by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stowers Institute for Medical Research, via Newswise.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Guangbo Chen, William D. Bradford, Chris W. Seidel, Rong Li. Hsp90 stress potentiates rapid cellular adaptation through induction of aneuploidy. Nature, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature10795

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/5Ai57WPl72k/120129151104.htm

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IMF chief presses for more cash to fight crisis

International Monetary Fund, IMF, managing director Christine Lagarde shows her bag as she speaks during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

International Monetary Fund, IMF, managing director Christine Lagarde shows her bag as she speaks during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Christine Lagarde, right, gestures next t Donald Tsang, left, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region during a plenary session at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Keystone/Laurent Gillieron)

International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Christine Lagarde gestures during during a plenary session at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/keystone/Laurent Gillieron)

International Monetary Fund, IMF, managing director, Christine Lagarde, attends a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

International Monetary Fund, IMF, managing director Christine Lagarde gestures as she speaks during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ? The head of the International Monetary Fund appeared to be making headway Saturday in her drive to boost the institution's financial firepower so that it can help Europe prevent its crippling debt crisis from further damaging the global economy.

Christine Lagarde, who replaced Dominique Strauss-Kahn as managing director of the fund six months ago, is trying to ramp up the IMF's resources by $500 billion so it can help if more lending is needed in Europe or elsewhere. The IMF is the world's traditional lender-of-last-resort and has been involved in the bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Insisting that the IMF is a "safe bet" and that no country had ever lost money by lending to the IMF, Lagarde argued that increasing the size of the IMF's resources would help improve confidence in the global financial system. If enough money is in the fund the markets will be reassured and it won't be used, she said, using arguments similar to those that France has made about increasing Europe's own rescue fund.

"It's for that reason that I am here, with my little bag, to actually collect a bit of money," she said at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps town of Davos.

Her plea appeared to find a measure of support from ministers of Britain and Japan, sizable IMF shareholders that would be expected to contribute to any money-raising exercise.

George Osborne, Britain's finance minister, said there is "a case for increasing IMF resources and ... demonstrating that the world wants to help together to solve the world's problems," provided the 17 countries that use the euro show the "color of their money."

European countries have said they're prepared to give the IMF $150 billion, meaning that the rest of the world will have to contribute $350 billion. However, many countries, such as Britain and the U.S., want Europe to do more, notably by boosting its own rescue fund.

Osborne said he would be willing to argue in Parliament for a new British contribution, though he may encounter opposition from some members from his own Conservative Party.

Japan's economy minister, Motohisa Furukawa, said his country would help the eurozone via the IMF, too, even though Japan's own debt burden is massive. Unlike Europe's debt-ridden economies, Japan doesn't face sky-high borrowing rates, partly because there's a very liquid domestic market that continues to support the country's bonds.

Europe once again dominated discussions on the final full day of the forum in Davos. Despite some optimism about Europe's latest attempts to stem the crisis, fears remain that turmoil could return.

Whether the markets remain stable could rest for now on if Greece, the epicenter of the crisis, manages to conclude crucial debt-reduction discussions with its private creditors. It's also seeking to placate demands from its European partners and the IMF for deeper reforms.

A failure on either front could force the country, which is now in its fifth year of recession, to default on its debt and leave the euro, potentially triggering another wave of mayhem in financial markets that could hit the global economy hard.

One German official even said Saturday that Greece should temporarily cede sovereignty over tax and spending decisions to a powerful eurozone budget commissioner to secure further bailouts. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because talks on the idea are confidential.

"The fact that we're still, at the start of 2012, talking about Greece again is a sign that this problem has not been dealt with," Britain's Osborne said.

For Donald Tsang, the chief executive of Hong Kong, efforts to deal with the 2-year-old debt crisis have fallen short of what is required. The failure to properly deal with the Greek situation quickly has meant the ultimate cost to Europe has been higher, he said.

"I have never been as scared as now about the world," he said.

Most economic forecasters predict that the global economy will continue to grow this year, but at a fairly slow rate. The IMF recently reduced its forecasts for global growth in 2012 to 3.3 percent, from the 4 percent pace that the IMF projected in September.

Lagarde sought to encourage some countries that use the euro to boost growth to help shore up the ailing eurozone economy, which is widely expected to sink back into recession, adding that it would be counterproductive if all euro countries cut their budgets aggressively at the same time.

"Some countries have to go full-speed ahead to do this fiscal consolidation ... but other countries have space and room," Lagarde said.

Though conceding that there aren't many such countries, Lagarde said it is important that those that have the headroom explore how they can boost growth. She carefully avoided naming any countries, but likely had in mind Germany, Europe's largest economy and a major world exporter. She didn't specify how to boost growth or how one eurozone country could help others grow.

Lagarde said members of the eurozone should continue the drive to tie their economies closer together. On Monday, European leaders gather in Brussels in the hopes of agreeing on a treaty that will force member countries to put deficit limits into their national laws.

Britain's Osborne said eurozone leaders should be praised for the "courage" they have shown over the past few months in enacting austerity and setting in place closer fiscal ties, but said more will have to be done if the single currency is to get on a surer footing.

Fiscal transfers from rich economies to poorer ones will become a "permanent feature" of the eurozone, Osborne predicted.

While politicians and business people were discussing the state of the global economy within the confines of the conference center, protesters questioned the purpose of the event as income inequalities grow worldwide.

Protesters from the Occupy movement that started on Wall Street have camped out in igloos at Davos and were demonstrating in front of City Hall to call attention to the needs of the poor and unemployed.

In a separate protest, three Ukrainian women were arrested when they stripped off their tops ? despite temperatures around freezing ? and tried to climb a fence surrounding the invitation-only gathering of international CEOs and political leaders.

"Crisis! Made in Davos," read one message painted across a protester's torso.

Davos police spokesman Thomas Hobi said the three women were taken to the police station and told they weren't allowed to demonstrate. He said they would be released later in the day.

___

Frank Jordans and Edith M. Lederer in Davos, and Juergen Baetz in Berlin contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-28-EU-Davos-Forum/id-ede1457bd27b458683bccf844e70a5f8

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Jon Rubinstein Leaves HP After ?Fulfilling Commitment?

HP's had quite a 2011 and Jon Rubinstein, former Palm CEO and a top-level executive at HP after the giant acquired Palm in 2010, was along for the ride. But according to a report out of AllThingsD, Rubinstein has officially left the company.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/XHufph2YIU4/

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Dow slips to first losing week of 2012

In this Jan. 25, 2012 photo, traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. World stocks faced multiple headwinds Friday Jan. 27, 2012 after disappointing Japanese earnings, higher unemployment in Spain and weak U.S. home sales. Investors awaited quarterly growth figures from the U.S. later in the day. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

In this Jan. 25, 2012 photo, traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. World stocks faced multiple headwinds Friday Jan. 27, 2012 after disappointing Japanese earnings, higher unemployment in Spain and weak U.S. home sales. Investors awaited quarterly growth figures from the U.S. later in the day. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The stock market closed mostly lower Friday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to its first losing week of 2012, after the government reported that economic growth was slower at the end of last year than economists expected.

The Dow spent the whole day in the red. It ended down 74 points, or 0.6 percent, at 12,660.46. The loss snapped a three-week winning streak for the Dow, which fell 60 points for the week but is still up 3.6 percent for the year.

The Standard & Poor's 500 struggled above even with an hour to go in trading, but it lost the gains and finished down 2.10 points at 1,316.33. The S&P finished the week up a sliver ? 0.95 points.

The Nasdaq composite, which has more than doubled the Dow's gain for the year, edged up 11.27 to 2,816.55. It rose about 30 points this week.

Economic growth for October through December came in at an annual rate of 2.8 percent. That was the fastest of 2011 but lower than the 3 percent that economists were looking for.

Utility companies led the way down with a fall of 1.3 percent. Most of the other nine industries in the S&P also fell, but only slightly, continuing a curious trading pattern this year: Trading has been calm in the past four weeks, a big change from the violent moves up and down that marked much of 2011.

Friday was the 17th day in a row of moves of less than 100 points up or down for the Dow. The last time the index had a longer period of such small moves was a 34-day stretch that started Dec. 3, 2010.

Despite the drift lower, investors displayed some bullishness.

Roughly two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. And the Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks rose nearly 2 percent for the week. Investors tend to sell stocks in the Russell when they're worried, not buy them, because smaller firms often don't have much cash and other resources when times get tough.

"Risk-taking is picking up," says Jeff Schwarte, a portfolio manager at Principal Global Equities. He says his firm has been buying small firms since late last year. "We're still finding attractive stocks."

Next week, investors will turn their attention to Facebook, the powerhouse social network, which appears headed for the most anticipated initial public offering of stock in years.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said Friday that Facebook could raise as much as $10 billion in an offering that would value the company at $75 billion to $100 billion.

That would vault Facebook into the largest public companies in the world, on par with the likes of McDonald's, Amazon.com and Visa. The Journal said Facebook could file IPO papers as early as Wednesday.

Investors earlier in the week had plenty of reason to hope the indexes would keep moving higher.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced it would likely keep benchmark interest rates near zero through late 2014, more than a year longer than it previously indicated. That helped send the Dow to its highest close since May.

Also lifting spirits: Apple had its best quarter for profits, trouncing expectations.

On Thursday, the Dow kept rising, briefly passing its highest close since the financial crisis three years ago. But the rally faded after news that new home sales in December had dropped, capping a year that ranked the worst for home sales since record-keeping began in 1963.

Among stocks making big moves Friday:

? Chevron fell more than 2 percent, the most of the 30 stocks in the Dow average, after its quarterly profit and revenue came in well below what analysts were expecting. Oil and natural gas production declined.

? Ford fell 4 percent after reporting disappointing earnings because of weak sales in Europe. The company said its results were also hurt by problems at parts suppliers in Thailand because of flooding there.

? Starbucks fell 1 percent after reporting late Thursday that that full-year results were likely to come in less than expectations.

? Procter & Gamble, which makes Tide, Crest and other consumer products, fell less than 1 percent after cutting its earnings outlook.

? Legg Mason dropped 5 percent after the investment management company's earnings fell by half as clients pulled money out. Legg Mason posted earnings of 20 cents per share. Analysts expected 25 cents, according to FactSet.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-27-Wall%20Street/id-a4861997e6b540d58f977afc0b2ae672

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It's a Snap: Travel photos from around the world

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Our readers have submitted some inspiring photos from around the world. This week's gallery features images from Hawaii, Scotland, Botswana and other stunning settings.

Scroll through this gorgeous set of images and vote for your favorite at the bottom.

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Eilean Donan Island, Western Highlands of Scotland

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Davy Mountain, Warne, N.C.

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Dunnottar Castle, Stonehaven, Scotland

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Baby sea lion, Galapagos Islands

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Bison, Yellowstone National Park

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Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colo.

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Mount Christoffel, Curacao

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Delaware River near Milford, Pa.

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Harbor Seals in Casco Bay, Portland, Maine

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Autumn on the Tallulah River, Ga.

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Lilac-breasted Roller, Tanzania

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The Old Mill at Berry College, Rome, Ga.

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If you have photos you'd like to share, submit them for a chance to be featured in the weekly gallery by clicking here.

You can also join our It's a Snap Facebook community and share your photos with others by clicking here.

{"contentId":"10243225","totalVotes":"2225"}

Which photo is your favorite?

The Old Mill at Berry College, Rome, Ga.	? 15.7% (350 votes)
Baby sea lion, Galapagos Islands	? 13.1% (292 votes)
Bison, Yellowstone National Park	? 12.5% (279 votes)
Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colo.	? 12.4% (276 votes)
Lilac-breasted Roller, Tanzania	? 7.4% (164 votes)
Imperial Beach, Calif.	? 6.8% (152 votes)
Eilean Donan Island, Scotland	? 5.6% (124 votes)
Kona, Hawaii	? 4.7% (104 votes)
Elephant, Botswana	? 4.6% (103 votes)
Tallulah River, Ga.	? 3.5% (77 votes)
Dunnottar Castle, Scotland	? 2.3% (51 votes)
Harbor Seals in Casco Bay, Portland, Maine	? 2% (44 votes)
Mount Christoffel, Curacao	? 1.9% (42 votes)
Davy Mountain, Warne, N.C.	? 1.5% (34 votes)
San Fransisco, Calif.	? 1.3% (30 votes)
Brussels, Belgium	? 1.2% (26 votes)
Custer State Park, S.D.	? 1.2% (26 votes)
La Jolla Cove, Calif.	? 0.9% (20 votes)
Delaware River near Milford, Pa.	? 0.9% (19 votes)
Chameleon, Hawaii	? 0.5% (12 votes)

Source: http://todaytravel.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/26/10243225-its-a-snap-travel-photos-from-around-the-world

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Too Few Americans Getting Screened for Common Cancers: CDC (HealthDay)

THURSDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) -- The number of Americans being screened for colon, breast and cervical cancers still fall below national targets, federal health officials said Thursday.

In 2010, 72.4 percent of women were being screened for breast cancer, below the target of 81 percent, for cervical cancer it was 83 percent of women, while the target is 93 percent, and for colon cancer 58.6 percent of Americans were screened, missing the target of 70.5 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Not all Americans are getting the recommended screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer," said report co-author Mary C. White, branch chief of the CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. "There continue to be disparities for certain populations."

The screening rates are particularly low among Asians and Hispanics, according to the report in the Jan. 27 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Among Asians, the screening rate for breast cancer was 64.1 percent, for cervical cancer it was 75.4 percent, and for colon cancer it was 46.9 percent.

Hispanics were less likely than non-Hispanics to have screening for cervical and colon cancer (78.7 percent and 46.5 percent, respectively), the researchers found.

Screening is important, said Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

"Screening saves lives," she said. "When you catch a cancer at a smaller size it does affect outcome."

Some people may be confused about screening, because different medical groups have different screening protocols, Bernik said.

"It's hard to get people to do screening in general. People look for any excuse not to get screened. When they see there is a controversy about when to start screening, they look at it as an opportunity to not do the test," she said.

Bernik also admits that screening can result in some over-treatment.

"With screening comes that risk," she said. "Unfortunately, we are not at a point where we can select the patients that are not going to have a problem, so we treat everyone equally. So, there is a little bit of over-treatment but, overall, you are improving survival for many people."

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that women aged 50 to 74 get a mammogram every two years to screen for breast cancer.

Women aged 21 to 65, or those who have been sexually active for three years, should have a Pap test to screen for cervical cancer at least every three years, the task force recommends.

For colorectal cancer, men and women aged 50 to 75 should be screened with a yearly fecal occult blood test or sigmoidoscopy every five years, or have a colonoscopy every 10 years.

Other highlights of the report include:

• Breast cancer screening rates remained stable from 2000-2010, varying only about 3 percent.
• Colon cancer screening rates increased from 2000-2010, to more than 58 percent for both men and women.
• Cervical cancer screening rates dipped 3.3 percent from 2000-2010.
• Screening rates for all these cancers was much lower among the uninsured or those who didn't have a regular doctor.

The Affordable Care Act is expected to lower these barriers to access by expanding insurance coverage, the authors said.

"Other efforts are needed, such as developing systems that identify persons eligible for cancer screening tests, actively encouraging the use of screening tests, and monitoring participation to improve screening rates," the authors added.

More information

For more on cancer screening, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120127/hl_hsn/toofewamericansgettingscreenedforcommoncancerscdc

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In GOP response, Daniels blames Obama for economy (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama has resorted to "extremism" with stifling, anti-growth policies and sought to divide Americans, not unite them, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said Tuesday in the formal Republican response to the president's State of the Union address.

Eight months after deciding against a bid for his party's presidential nomination, Daniels used his nationally televised speech to lash out at Obama and cast the GOP as compassionate and eager to unchain the country's economic potential.

He took particular aim at Obama's efforts to raise taxes on the rich and castigate them for not contributing their fair share to the nation's burdens. Joined by Republicans on Capitol Hill and the presidential campaign trails, the GOP goal was to both blunt and shift the focus away from Obama's theme on Tuesday of fairness, which included protecting the middle class and making sure the rich pay an equitable share of taxes.

"No feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant effort to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others," Daniels said, speaking from Indianapolis. "As in previous moments of national danger, we Americans are all in the same boat."

"This election is going to be a referendum on the president's economic policies," which have worsened the economy, said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "The politics of envy, the politics of dividing our country is not what America is all about."

Also drawing frequent GOP attacks were Obama's proposed tax increases, which included making sure millionaire earners pay at least a 30 percent tax rate.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., said Obama's proposals to boost taxes on the wealthy and give tax breaks for domestic U.S. manufacturers and others were "nothing more than the usual Washington game that has led to a tax code already littered with lobbyist loopholes."

Daniels is a rarity in the GOP these days ? a uniting and widely respected figure, contrasting with the divisiveness emanating from the contest for the presidential nomination being waged among former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and others.

President George W. Bush's first budget chief and a two-term Indiana governor, Daniels often rails against wasteful spending big budget deficits, though critics note he served during the abrupt shift from fleeting federal surpluses to massive deficits early in Bush's term.

"When President Obama claims that the state of our union is anything but grave, he must know in his heart that this is not true," Daniels said. He added that while Obama did not cause the country's economic and budget problems, "He was elected on a promise to fix them, and he cannot claim that the last three years have made things anything but worse."

The night's rhetoric come at the dawn of a presidential and congressional election year in which the defining issues are the faltering economy and weak job market and the parties' clashing prescriptions for restoring both. Obama and congressional Democrats have focused on the more populist pathway of financing federal initiatives by taxing millionaires, while Republicans preach the virtues of less regulation and smaller government.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called Obama's address "a campaign speech designed to please his liberal base," and warned that he should keep legislation advancing his priorities "free from poison pills like tax hikes on job creators."

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who heads large group of House conservatives, said Obama's speech was riddled with "the ridiculous idea that America isn't fair because successful people get to keep too much of the money they earn."

Republicans fired back at Obama's vision of "an economy built to last," saying it was their party that understood the best way to trigger economic growth was to get the government out of the way.

"The extremism that stifles the development of homegrown energy, or cancels a perfectly sane pipeline that would employ tens of thousands, or jacks up consumer utility bills for no improvement in either human health or world temperature, is a pro-poverty policy," Daniels said.

Obama has halted, for now, work on the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from western Canada to Texas' Gulf Coast. Republicans say the project would create thousands of jobs, a claim opponents say is overstated. The administration has also pursued policies aimed at reducing pollution and global warming.

To underscore Obama's decision on Keystone, Boehner invited three officials from companies he said would be hurt by the pipeline's rejection to watch the speech in the House chamber, along with a pro-pipeline legislator from Nebraska, through which the project would pass.

Obama was delivering his address during a rowdy battle for the GOP presidential nomination that has ended up providing ammunition for Obama's theme of fairness.

That fight has called attention to the wealth of one of the top contenders, Romney, and the low ? but legal ? effective federal income tax rate of around 15 percent that the multimillionaire has paid in the past two years. Romney, in Florida campaigning for that state's Jan. 31 primary, released his tax documents for the two-year period on Tuesday.

"The president's agenda sounds less like `built to last' and more like doomed to fail," Romney said in Tampa, Fla. "What he's proposing is more of the same: more taxes, more spending, and more regulation."

Romney's chief rival at this point, Gingrich, said in a written statement that the top question about Obama's speech was whether he "will show a willingness to put aside the extremist ideology of the far left and call for a new set of policies that could lead to dramatic private sector job creation and economic growth."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_state_of_union_gop_reaction

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One year on, Egypt will demonstrate and celebrate

Mohamed Omar / EPA

An Egyptian protester holds a banner on the morning of the first anniversary of the uprising in Tahrir square, Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 25. Demonstrators gathered in the square to mark the anniversary.

By msnbc.com staff and news services

CAIRO-- Egyptians head to Tahrir Square on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak with some seeking a new revolt against army rule and others celebrating the changes already achieved.

It is a year since protesters inspired by an uprising in Tunisia took to the streets in Egypt and the January 25 anniversary has exposed divisions in the Arab world's most populous country over the pace of democratic change.

Concerned the generals are obstructing reform to protect their interests, the pro-democracy activists behind the "January 25 revolution" plan marches to Tahrir Square to demand the military council that replaced Mubarak hand power to civilians immediately.

But well-organized Islamist parties which dominated Egypt's most democratic election since army officers overthrew the king in 1952 are among those who oppose a new uprising.

Signs of friction were on show as hundreds of people began to congregate in Tahrir Square late on Tuesday, pitching tents in winter rain and hanging the national flag from buildings.

"The military council is Mubarak," said Amr al-Zamlout, a 31-year-old protester clutching a sign declaring "there is no change" and stating his aim was to topple the army rulers.

Mohamed Othman, an accountant, stopped to put forward a different view based on the idea that Egypt needs stability for economic recovery, not more protests.

"The council will leave power in any case. Sure the revolution is incomplete but it doesn't mean we should obstruct life," he said. His criticism quickly drew a crowd and touched off an argument.

Grocery stores were unusually busy as shoppers stocked up, reflecting concern at the prospect of a repeat of last year when protests went on for 18 days before Mubarak was forced to step down on February 11.

Protests against the military council turned violent in November and December.

White House praise
The United States, a close ally of Egypt under Mubarak, praised "several historic milestones in its transition to democracy" this week, including the convening of parliament.

"While many challenges remain, Egypt has come a long way in the past year, and we hope that all Egyptians will commemorate this anniversary with the spirit of peace and unity that prevailed last January," a White House statement said.

Headed by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the military council has said it will cede power to an elected president by the end of June, thus completing a democratic transition.

Yet pro-democracy activists doubt their intentions, pointing to a surge in military trials and the use of violence against protesters as signs of autocratic ways familiar from the Mubarak era.

Tantawi, for two decades Mubarak's defense minister, again defended the military from such accusations during a televised speech on Tuesday. "The nation and the armed forces had one aim: for Egypt to become a democratic state," he said.

In an apparent attempt to appease reformist demands, the military council has in recent days pardoned some 2,000 people convicted in military courts since Mubarak was toppled. On Tuesday it announced a partial lifting of a state of emergency.

But it kept a clause saying emergency laws in place since 1981 would still apply in cases of "thuggery," a vague term that triggered calls for clarification from Washington and more criticism from human rights groups.

The activist movement, a coalition of groups united in calls for deeper and faster reform, have been fighting back in the run-up to the anniversary against what they describe as state efforts to present them as foreign-backed trouble makers.

The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group which won nearly half the seats in the parliament, said last week he was against calls for a new revolt against the military.

"I hope we will go down together to be joyful at what we have accomplished, to guard our Egypt and to complete the demands of the revolution," Mohamed Badie said in an interview with Egypt's Dream TV.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/24/10228383-one-year-on-egypt-will-demonstrate-and-celebrate

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Obama to take on economy in State of the Union

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington. President Barack Obama commands center stage in a political year so far dominated by Republican infighting, preparing to deliver a State of the Union address that will go right to the heart of Americans' economic anxiety and try to sway voters to give him four more years in office. He is expected to urge higher taxes on the wealthy, propose steps to make college more affordable and offer new remedies for the still worrisome housing crisis. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington. President Barack Obama commands center stage in a political year so far dominated by Republican infighting, preparing to deliver a State of the Union address that will go right to the heart of Americans' economic anxiety and try to sway voters to give him four more years in office. He is expected to urge higher taxes on the wealthy, propose steps to make college more affordable and offer new remedies for the still worrisome housing crisis. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Addressing a divided nation amid a determined GOP campaign to take his job, President Barack Obama is preparing to issue a populist cry for economic fairness as he aims to corral the sympathies of middle-class voters 10 months before Election Day.

Obama delivers his third State of the Union address Tuesday in a capital and country shot through with politics, with his re-election campaign well under way and his potential GOP opponents lobbing attacks against him daily as they scrap for the right to take him on.

Obama's 9 p.m. EST address to a joint session of Congress and millions of television viewers will be as much as anything an argument for his re-election, the president's biggest, best chance so far to offer a vision for a second term.

"Almost by definition it's going to be at least as much a political speech as a governing speech," said Bill Galston, a former Clinton administration domestic policy adviser now at the Brookings Institution.

"The president must run on his record," Galston said, "and that means talking candidly and persuasively with the country about the very distinctive nature of the challenges the American economy faced when he took office and what has gone right for the past three years, and what needs to be done in addition."

With economic anxiety showing through everywhere, the speech will focus on a vision for restoring the middle class, with Obama facing the tricky task of persuading voters to stick with him even as joblessness remains high at 8.5 percent. Obama can point to positive signs, including continued if sluggish growth; his argument will be that he is the one to restore economic equality for middle-class voters.

Implicit in the argument, even if he never names Republican presidential frontrunners Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, is that they are on the other side. Obama's speech will come as Gingrich and Romney have transformed the Republican campaign into a real contest ahead of Florida's crucial primary next week. And he'll be speaking on the same day that Romney, a multimillionaire, released his tax returns, offering a vivid illustration of wealth that could play into Obama's argument about the growing divide between rich and poor.

Obama will frame the campaign to come as a fight for fairness for those who are struggling to keep a job, a home or college savings and losing faith in how the country works.

The speech will feature the themes of manufacturing, clean energy, education and American values. The president is expected to urge higher taxes on the wealthy, propose ways to make college more affordable, offer new steps to tackle a debilitating housing crisis and push to help U.S. manufacturers expand hiring.

The lines of argument between Obama and his rivals are already stark, with America's economic insecurity and the role of government at the center.

The president has offered signals about his speech, telling campaign supporters he wants an economy "that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few." Gingrich, on the other hand, calls Obama "the most effective food stamp president in history." Romney says Obama "wants to turn America into a European-style entitlement society."

Obama will make bipartisan overtures to lawmakers but will leave little doubt he will act without their help when it's necessary and possible, an approach his aides say has let him stay on offense.

The public is more concerned about domestic troubles over foreign policy than at any other time in the past 15 years, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center. Some 81 percent want Obama to focus his speech on domestic affairs, not foreign ones; just five years ago, the view was evenly split.

On the day before Obama's speech, his campaign released a short Web ad showing monthly job losses during the end of the Bush administration and the beginning of the Obama administration, with positive job growth for nearly two Obama years. Republicans assail him for failing to achieve a lot more.

House Speaker John Boehner, responding to reports of Obama's speech themes, said it was a rehash of unhelpful policies. "It's pathetic," he said.

Presidential spokesman Jay Carney said Monday that Obama is not conceding the next 10 months to "campaigning alone" when people need economic help. On the goals of helping people get a fair shot, Carney said, "There's ample room within those boundaries for bipartisan cooperation and for getting this done."

For three days following his speech, Obama will promote his ideas in five states key to his re-election bid: Iowa, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Michigan. Polling shows Americans are divided about Obama's overall job performance but unsatisfied with his handling of the economy.

___

AP White House Correspondent Ben Feller contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-24-US-State-of-the-Union/id-d20acc3975944b6d9565554669bc2a52

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Romney to right tax "mistake" after primary loss (reuters)

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After EU "Yes", Croatia needs reforms, tight budget (Reuters)

ZAGREB (Reuters) ? Croatia's new centre-left government must focus on reforms to save the country's credit rating and boost the economy before joining the European Union in July 2013, after two-thirds of voters backed EU membership on Sunday, analysts said.

They said there was some relief at the 66 percent referendum "yes" vote, but it was already broadly priced in, and investors wanted to see a viable reform program, possibly backed by a precautionary deal with the International Monetary Fund.

"Investors are likely to be ready to buy Croatia's debt this year as long as they see some form of more comprehensive reform program from the government - perhaps helped by an IMF program," said Timoty Ash of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

"Now, with the EU referendum successfully behind, it might be easier for the government to pursue necessary reforms," he told Reuters.

A pressing task for Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic is to draft a tight budget and avert a credit rating downgrade which would put Croatia in the lowest, speculative investment grade, hike borrowing costs and complicate economic recovery.

"EU membership will boost investment and have a positive impact on growth in a medium- to long-term. However, on a short-term horizon there might be hiccups in economic policies ... a downgrade may follow if the new government fails to implement structural reforms," J.P. Morgan said in a research note.

Last year Croatia's budget deficit exceeded five percent of gross domestic product, the highest level in eight years.

This year the small Adriatic country of 4.3 million tentatively sees the gap at around 3.5 percent of GDP and to cover it the government may combine issuing debt and selling non-strategic assets in the banking and insurance industry.

BUDGET KEY TEST FOR RATING

The government, which wants to pursue reforms on its own and sees an IMF deal as a last resort, has already announced a hike in value added tax to 25 from 23 percent, and a budget draft is expected to be ready by the time Fitch rating agency arrives to assess Croatia's economy on February 1-3.

Moody's and Standard and Poor's are due in the second half of February.

Fitch rates Croatia BBB-, with a negative outlook.

"I think our chances to rescue the rating are a touch above 50-50. There is political will, everyone has acknowledged that spending must be cut, but there is not a lot of time," said Hrvoje Stojic, an analyst at Hypo Bank Alpe Adria.

He said Croatia could even post mild growth this year, despite a bleak outlook for the euro zone's economy, if it goes for "a radical overhaul of the business climate, spending cuts, tax and labor market reforms, public tenders, concessions."

"But we just don't have experience with quick implementation," he said.

The World Bank has forecast a mild economic decline of up to one percent this year.

Raffaella Tenconi of Bank of America-Merrill Lynch also said a stand-by deal with the IMF would be very welcome although Croatia probably would not need to draw any money.

"I think they only need it as an insurance, I don't think they actually need the money. Their issuance needs (this year) are relatively low," she said.

The 2012 budget is likely to be approved by the parliament in February or early March.

(Reporting by Igor Ilic and Zoran Radosavljevic, additional reporting by Sujata Rao in London)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/wl_nm/us_croatia_economy_eu

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Apple reportedly believes Chinese factories faster, more flexible than U.S. counterparts

According to The New York Times, not the cost of labor, not the cost of components, but rather the speed and flexibility with which Chinese factories can respond to manufacturing demands is reportedly the reason Apple prefers them over their U.S. counterparts.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/PHJhpr3w8V4/story01.htm

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Cell senescence does not stop tumor growth

Friday, January 20, 2012

Since cancer cells grow indefinitely, it is commonly believed that senescence could act as a barrier against tumor growth and potentially be used as a way to treat cancer. A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano, Italy, and two physicists, from the National Research Council of Italy and from Cornell University, has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth, which is sustained by a small population of cancer stem cells. The results, published in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology on January 19 explain why it is difficult to treat cancer cells by inducing senescence alone.

The work explores the relationship between melanoma and senescence, the normal process where cells decline and eventually stop duplicating after reaching maturity. The investigators followed the long-term evolution of melanoma cell populations, monitoring the number of senescent cells. After three months, growth slowed and most of the cells turned senescent, however growth did not stop and eventually resumed its initial rate until the senescent cells had almost disappeared.

The authors mathematically modeled the experimental data using the cancer stem cell hypothesis, where a sub-group of cancer cells replicate indefinitely, and are thus unaffected by senescence. These cancer stem cells give rise to a larger population of cancer cells that can duplicate only a finite number of times. The model yielded an indirect confirmation of the presence of cancer stem cells in melanoma, an issue that is still controversial in the cancer research community.

Although a large fraction of cancer cells are susceptible to senescence, the researchers conclude that inducing senescence is unlikely to provide a successful therapeutic strategy because these cells are irrelevant for tumor growth. However, the indirect evidence of cancer stem cells in melanoma may enable the development of new methods to treat specific kinds of cancer. The challenge will be in the strong resistance to drug induced senescence that would be found in the cancer stem cells. Along this line of research, treatment of tumors would focus on targeting only these cancer stem cells, rather than every single cancerous cell.

###

La Porta CAM, Zapperi S, Sethna JP (2012) Senescent Cells in Growing Tumors: Population Dynamics and Cancer Stem Cells. PLoS Comput Biol 8(1): e1002316. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002316

Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org

Thanks to Public Library of Science for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116906/Cell_senescence_does_not_stop_tumor_growth

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