Natural gas price plunge puts heat on producers (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? A steep drop in natural gas prices is squeezing the profits of producers such as Southwestern Gas Corp (SWX.N), EXCO Resources (EXC.N) and Quicksilver Resources (KWK.N), which may need to shut wells, raise cash, cut staff or seek merger partners in the coming year.

Spot natural gas futures dipped below $3.00 per million British Thermal units on Friday, the lowest level in more than two years, as a glut of gas from shale fields across the United States pushed inventory levels to historic highs.

Market forecasters expect prices to remain weak in 2012, after falling nearly 40 percent since June -- a boon to major users of the fuel, such as chemicals and industrial companies.

Large gas producers including Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and Chevron Corp (CVX.N) have the deep pockets to ride through the low prices, but many of their smaller competitors are likely to suffer as they are heavily reliant on dry gas.

Shares of Exco and Quicksilver have lost about half their value in the last six months, far worse than the 5.4 percent drop in the NYSE index of natural gas companies (.XNG).

Southwestern's shares have fared better, since the company has hedged half its natural gas production by buying protection at around $5 gas. Still, the company's projections show that low natural gas prices will cut sharply into both profits and cash flow.

Typically, gas producers respond to price drops by reducing spending on new wells, shrinking the amount of gas that enters the market and helping to turn prices higher. But analysts say more drastic action may be needed in 2012, including well shut-downs, spending cuts or even employee layoffs, as well as asset sales or full mergers with stronger peers.

"They'll muck through a couple ugly months of bad spot pricing as long as they see some hope in the strip," said Dan Morrison, senior energy analyst at Global Hunter Securities, referring to NYMEX futures "strip" prices. "When the whole strip melts down, that's what really alters behavior."

Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/mup44s

Weak gas prices have sparked chatter some companies could seek mergers or sell off assets.

"On the transaction side, you've always got the opportunistic guys, saying oil is at a relatively high spot in the last couple of years, and gas is low, so I'm going to chase the gas right now," said David Knox, senior vice president for negotiated transactions at the Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse in Houston.

EXCO earlier this year explored a sale but found no suitable buyers. It has said it may raise funds by selling its gas processing assets.

The company may find a willing buyer in its joint venture partner BG Group Plc (BG.L), according to Michael Hall, analyst at Baird Equity Research. The companies are currently partners in the Marcellus and Haynesville shales.

That may hinge on whether BG decides to pursue a vertical integration strategy to help fulfill the long-term gas export deals it recently signed with Cheniere Energy Inc (LNG.A), Hall said in a note to clients earlier this month.

GAS WINNERS

Shale fields, such as the Marcellus in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the Haynesville in Louisiana, Fayetteville in Arkansas as well as new fields in Ohio and other states, have pushed average 2012 prices for natural gas futures on the NYMEX near $3.30 this week, well south of the $4 mark that gas producers often cite as the benchmark to deliver healthy industry returns.

Southwestern has said cash flow from operations in 2012 could fall more than 14 percent when calculated using a $3.50 gas price, compared with gas at $4.50 per Mcf. By the same measure, the company's net profit falls more than 20 percent with $3.50 gas.

Southwestern's output is 100 percent gas, EXCO's production is 98 percent gas and Quicksilver's production is 82 percent gas, according to data from Bernstein Research.

Projections that gas prices will stay low have helped many other industries that rely on gas to produce chemicals, fertilizer or electricity.

Steel maker Nucor Corp (NUE.N) has cited low natural gas prices as a key driver behind its move to build a new steel plant in Louisiana, and electricity producers have announced plans to build dozens of new gas-fired power plants to replace aging coal-fired generators.

"We have already seen companies that are in the chemicals, steel and aluminum and fertilizer industries either plan for new facilities or to restart old facilities," said Paul Cicio, the president of the Industrial Energy Consumers of America, a lobby group in Washington.

Each $1 drop in natural gas prices cuts costs for Dow Chemical (DOW.N), DuPont (DD.N) and other U.S.-based chemical makers by a total of $3.7 billion annually, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

For an industry that only five years ago saw little future in investing in U.S. operations, the new price paradigm is a game changer that the American Chemistry Council, an industry trade association, estimates will drive $25 billion in investments in new facilities.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc's (RDSa.L) Shell Oil Co and Dow are the two biggest names planning new chemical plants. LyondellBasell (LYB.N) plans to improve its use of natural gas in its production, and fertilizer producer CF Industries (CF.N), which uses natural gas to make nitrogen, is planning to increase production.

"We have an opportunity in several of our U.S. facilities that will allow us to take advantage of lower costs using ethane from natural gas streams and some other NGLs," said LyondellBasell spokesman David Harpole.

"U.S. ethylene plants are (now) second only to the Mideast in production costs."

(Reporting by Anna Driver in Houston and Braden Reddall in San Francisco; additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder, Jeanine Prezioso and Matt Daily in New York, writing by Matt Daily and Anna Driver, editing by Matthew Lewis)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111230/bs_nm/us_natgas_companies

giants denver broncos patriots steelers ravens bengals new england patriots

Spain revises up deficit and raises taxes (AP)

MADRID ? Spain's new government warned Friday that the country's budget deficit will be much higher than anticipated this year, as it unveiled a first batch of austerity measures that include surprise income and property tax hikes.

Following the new conservative government's second Cabinet meeting, the budget deficit for this year was revised up to 8 percent of national income from the previous government's forecast of 6 percent.

Alongside the upward revision, which comes amid predictions that the Spanish economy will soon be back in recession, the government headed by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced further measures to get a handle on its debts, including euro8.9 billion ($11.5 billion) in spending cuts.

"This is the beginning of the beginning," government spokeswoman Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said.

She said more reforms and austerity will come in 2012.

The conservative Popular Party took power only last week after a landslide election win on Nov. 20 and its main priority is to make sure that Spain doesn't get dragged into the debt crisis mire that has already forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal into seeking financial bailouts and is now threatening much-bigger Italy.

Though Spain's budget deficit is higher than the 3 percent threshold that was supposedly part of the euro's economic framework, it has so far avoided the same sort of bond market pressure that's currently afflicting Italy, partly because its overall central government debt burden is relatively low at around 66 percent ? Italy's is around 120 percent.

The yield on Spain's benchmark ten-year bonds is closing out 2011 at just over 5 percent, lower than Italy's 7 percent, a rate that is widely-considered to be unsustainable in the long-run.

Nevertheless, Spain has to keep a lid on its borrowings especially with unemployment so high and its regions and the private sector is so indebted too following the collapse of a property and construction bubble that had fueled robust growth for nearly a decade. Spain crawled out of nearly two years of recession in 2010, but the economy slowed this summer and growth was outright flat in the third quarter of this year.

An increase in the deficit forecast was not a total surprise, but the scale of the increase was.

Many economists had predicted an increase because the economy stagnated in the third quarter and is now officially forecast to drop back into recession in the first quarter of 2012. Spain's jobless rate is 21.5 percent, the highest in the euro zone.

Alongside the spending cuts, the new government maintained a freeze on civil servants' salaries and on practically all government hiring. Pensions though were increased by 1 percent, the only area of spending to go up ? Rajoy had pledged to increase pensions in a speech to Parliament last week prior to his swearing in.

Taxes on income will also be raised but only for two years.

Treasury Minister Cristobal Montoro said the increases will be progressive, with the wealthiest paying more and that the impact on lower-income earners will be minimal. The government is projecting that this will bring in euro6.2 billion.

Taxes will also be raised on homes, but only those less hit by property prices plummeting because of the burst real estate bubble.

Spokeswoman Saenz de Santamaria said the jump in the deficit forecast came as a surprise because the outgoing government was slow in turning over some documents.

"It is going to force us to take extraordinary measures," she said. "We are confronted with an extraordinary and unforeseen situation which is going to force us to adopt extraordinary and unforeseen measures"

Property taxes were also raised, but only through 2013.

The measures will go before Parliament on Jan. 11. Passage is assured because the Popular Party has a comfortable majority.

The measures are part of an extension of the 2011 budget because the last government did not pass one for 2012.

A bigger austerity whack is expected when the new government passes a full blown 2012 budget by the end of March.

____

Harold Heckle contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111230/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_spain_financial_crisis

patti stanger pasadena pasadena famu famu martina mcbride terry jones

Add a Work Table Anywhere with the Room-for-My-Sidekick Table

Would you like a work table for your laptop, but you don’t have room for a desk?? Or you’d like to use it while sitting on your sofa, without burning your legs?? The Room-for-My-Sidekick Table from Levenger will let you add a work table to any room.? It’s big enough to use with a laptop [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/12/30/add-a-work-table-anywhere-with-the-room-for-my-sidekick-table/

herman cain accuser election day joe frazier where do i vote wheel of fortune today show smokin joe

Cal football: Tedford sees brighter days ahead

Click photo to enlarge

Cal Bears' Keenan Allen, #21, scrambles against Texas Longhorns' Kenny Vaccaro, #4, and Blake Gideon, #21, during the second half of the 34th Holiday Bowl football game at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. The Bears loss 21-10. (Ray Chavez/Staff)

Cal coach Jeff Tedford acknowledged that the Holiday Bowl was a treat for his team after a year away from postseason football, but he added that it was not the ultimate prize.

"Even though this is a great bowl game, you're always striving to be the best," he said. "Texas is probably a little different than us because they've been in the national championship, and that's where we hope to be someday. Got to keep working toward that."

Obviously, there still is much work to be done. Everything that clicked so well while the Bears won three of their final four regular-season games -- a more potent running game, a more efficient pass attack -- came apart during a mistake-filled 21-10 loss to the Longhorns on Wednesday.

But Tedford is convinced that the Bears, who finished the 2011 season at 7-6, will be improved next fall.

"I love our team," Tedford said. "I wouldn't trade our guys for anybody."

Texas exposed some weaknesses that weren't evident in late-season wins over Washington State, Oregon State and Arizona State, three teams with a combined 13-24 record.

Cal was guilty of five turnovers -- three by quarterback Zach Maynard-- but he was under relentless pressure during the entire game, as the Bears appeared to have no answer for it.

Eleven starters -- six on offense, five on defense -- return next season, with three key offensive positions intact, starting with junior-to-be Keenan Allen, who will be an All-America

candidate at wideout after catching 98 passes for 1,343 yards this year.

Maynard, who played well late in the season before his Holiday Bowl troubles with Texas, and tailback Isi Sofele return for their senior seasons.

"We were inexperienced (this season) in certain areas on offense," Tedford said prior to the Texas game. "I think our quarterback situation has been answered a little bit. I think our running back situation (also has been), and I think we're going to have some depth at running back, too."

Maynard finished his first season in the Pac-12 with 2,990 passing yards, third-most in school history, and Sofele rushed for 1,322 yards.

The next hurdle for Maynard, Sofele and the offense is to deliver against the better teams: Cal scored a combined 34 points in losses to USC, Oregon and Texas.

Maynard is as upbeat as Tedford about next season.

"I see a bright future for us. A lot of young guys played this year," he said after the Texas game. "We have to work hard in the off-season, and we'll see the potential we have for next season."

The defense, which allowed the Longhorns just 16 yards on their first five possessions, will be the younger unit a year from now.

Gone are inside linebackers Mychal Kendricks, who was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and D.J. Holt. The Bears also lose safeties D.J. Campbell and Sean Cattouse, and all-conference punter Bryan Anger.

But freshmen linebackers Chris McCain and David Wilkerson are expected to blossom, and the Bears have two other promising young linebackers in freshman Cecil Whiteside and sophomore Dan Camporeale. All of the top cornerbacks return.

"Some of the lessons that the young guys learned this year are going to help us and give us momentum going into next season," Tedford said. "So there is a lot of learn from."

Cal opens the 2012 season on Sept. 1 against Nevada at Memorial Stadium, whose $321 million renovation will be complete. Two weeks later, the Bears visit Ohio State and new coach Urban Meyer. They will have home games against Stanford, Oregon and UCLA, and will play on the road against USC. Dates for Pac-12 games have not been announced.

Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/cal-bears/ci_19641014?source=rss

embers metta shannon brown utah jazz mike rowe pro bowl 2012 ron artest

Man United rolls

By STEVE DOUGLAS

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 4:12 p.m. ET Dec. 27, 2011

LONDON (AP) -Tottenham established itself as the likeliest challenger to the dominance of the Manchester clubs in the Premier League this season, beating Norwich 2-0 on Tuesday to tighten its grip on third place.

A classy second-half double by winger Gareth Bale lifted Spurs to within seven points of City and United, with the London club still holding a game in hand - at home to Everton next month.

With fifth-place Arsenal drawing 1-1 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers to join fading title hopefuls Chelsea and Liverpool in dropping points in the latest round of league fixtures, it looks increasingly like a three-horse race for the title.

However, Bale and Spurs aren't getting ahead of themselves.

"We said at the start of the season that our main objective was to get back in the Champions League and that's still the case," said the 22-year-old Bale. "We are just going to take it one game at a time."

Heading into the game at Carrow Road, Tottenham knew Manchester United - which is level on points with City - was the only team in the top six to have won in the latest round of fixtures.

The pressure was on Harry Redknapp's team to take advantage and it did just that, with Bale capping an impressive individual display by scoring goals in the 55th and 67th minutes.

His first was a sidefooted finish from close range, while his second demonstrated his pace and power, bursting through the middle before supplying a deft finish over Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy.

Bale could have had more goals. Out of Spurs' 15 shots, he had seven.

"He's an amazing player isn't he?" Redknapp said of Bale, who emerged as a potential superstar in a breakthrough 2010-11 season in which he wowed football fans worldwide with his performances in the Champions League.

"When he picks the ball up, turns and runs at you, he is unplayable."

Arsenal has never finished behind fierce north London rival Tottenham since the Premier League's inception in 1992 but this could be the season.

Arsene Wenger's team missed a great chance to climb above Chelsea into fourth place by only drawing against Wolves, who played the last 17 minutes with 10 men following the harsh straight red card handed to Serbia midfielder Nenad Milijas for a studs-first tackle.

Ivory Coast forward Gervinho opened the scoring for Arsenal in the eighth minute but the hosts failed to make the most of a series of chances, the majority of which fell to leading scorer Robin van Persie, and Wolves equalized through Steven Fletcher in the 38th.

Visiting goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey foiled the Gunners time and again in the second half, leaving them fifth in the table.

"It was the kind of game that if you played 20 times, you win 19 of them. Unfortunately this was the one time we didn't win," Wenger said. "Their keeper played the game of his life."

Queens Park Rangers ended its three-match losing run by drawing 1-1 at Swansea in Tuesday's other game, moving three points clear of the relegation zone.

Jamie Mackie scored QPR's equalizer at the Liberty Stadium when he got in behind Swansea's notoriously stubborn defense to stab home a finish in the 58th minute, canceling out Danny Graham's goal for Swansea in the 14th minute.

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement

More newsAdrian Dennis / AFP - Getty Images

Arsenal blows opportunity

Arsenal's flailing title hopes in the Premier League received a setback when it was held 1-1 at home by struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday.

Man United rolls

Manchester United flourished as Manchester City floundered on Monday to wipe out its neighbor's lead in the Premier League title race.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44131091/ns/sports-soccer/

cybermonday deals cybermonday deals steve johnson norman reedus norman reedus sears john 3 16

Apple and Google Each Top 10 Billion Cumulative App Downloads in 2011

It wasn?t too long ago that on Christmas Day, consumers spent their free time away from Church and family meals playing videogames and catching Hollywood movies at the theater. But the past few years has seen an explosion of Christmas Day activity on Apple?s App Store and Google?s Android Market. It?s the perfect storm of new tablets and smartphones being opened for the first time and existing customers searching for something to play or do while away with family.

Historically, more iOS and Android apps are downloaded on Christmas than on any other day of the year.?As fast as loved-ones can unwrap their shiny, new Galaxy IIs, iPhones, iPads, Kindle Fires, Nooks, et cetera, they start loading them up with new apps.?According to Flurry, by the end of 2011, Apple?s App Store is on pace to exceed 10 billion downloads, which will double the cumulative number of downloads earned across 2008, 2009 and 2010. The Android Market also set records, more than tripling its life-to-date downloads of 3 billion, reached in May 2011, to now over 10 billion cumulative downloads reached this December.

The researchers explored the month of December to show just how impactful Christmas Day smartphone and tablet gifts are on the industry. Flurry established a baseline using the average from the first 20 days of December.? Over this period, daily activations ranged from 1.3 to 1.8 million.? On Christmas Day, activations catapulted to more than 6.8 million, a 353% increase over the baseline.? Compared to Christmas Day 2010, the previous single-day record, with 2.8 million device activations, Christmas 2011 grew by more than 140%.

And the first thing new tablet and smartphone users did upon activation was to explore the App Store and Android Market. A quarter of a billion downloads occurred on Christmas Day 2011, which is more than double any other day in the history of iOS and Android devices, except December 24 (for those who just couldn?t wait another day to open their presents), which delivered roughly 150 million downloads.

Flurry expects the last week of December, when so many people take a vacation from work to celebrate Christmas and New Year?s Day, to continue a record pace. In fact, over 1 billion total app downloads are expected during this week.

Being extremely thorough, the team actually broke down by the hour on Christmas Day when people opened their smartphones and tablets under the tree and started downloading apps. They started with a baseline, which is the average for a December day (Dec 1 ? 20). During this period of time, there were slow spots like 5 AM, when 720,000 downloads were recorded. But the peak was much later, at 9 PM, when over 8 million download occurred.

Comparing Christmas Day to this baseline, Flurry discovered that there were over twice as many downloads per hour.? And already by 9 AM, hourly downloads on Christmas exceeded 10 million.?At its zenith, from 7 PM to 9 PM, hourly downloads exceeded 15 million.?Between 11 AM to 11 PM, more than 175 million apps were downloaded.? By itself, this half day delivered over 70% more downloads than the entire baseline day.

With more than 140,000 apps using Flurry Analytics, Flurry detects roughly 100% of all new iOS and Android devices activated each day.?Flurry expects to see continued growth in smartphone and tablet sales and app downloads for both Apple and Google in 2012 and beyond. New devices will debut in January at CES 2012 in Las Vegas.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2011/12/27/apple-and-google-each-top-10-billion-cumulative-app-downloads-in-2011/

erin andrews erin andrews blagojevich sentence mythbusters cannonball uss arizona myth busters tracy mcgrady

Study uncovers a molecular 'maturation clock' that modulates branching architecture in tomato plants

Public release date: 26-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Hema Bashyam
bashyam@cshl.edu
516-367-8455
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Manipulating the clock might provide agricultural benefits, as a slower clock increases branching, thereby increasing flower number and fruit yield

Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. The secret to pushing tomato plants to produce more fruit might not lie in an extra dose of Miracle-Gro. Instead, new research from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) suggests that an increase in fruit yield might be achieved by manipulating a molecular timer or so-called "maturation clock" that determines the number of branches that make flowers, called inflorescences.

"We have found that a delay in this clock causes more branching to occur in the inflorescences, which in turn results in more flowers and ultimately, more fruits," says CSHL Assistant Professor Zach Lippman, who led the research team. The new study, which involved a high-resolution, genome-level comparison of the stem cell populations from three tomato varieties that each have different branching architectures, will appear online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of December 26.

When a plant is ready to flower, populations of stem cells, called shoot apical meristems, which are found in the growing tips, stop producing leaves and begin producing flowers by transforming into "inflorescence meristems." Depending on the tomato variety, inflorescences meristems can make just one branch with a few flowers arranged in the familiar, photogenic zigzag pattern (shown), or multiple branches with dozens of flowers, as seen in closely-related wild relatives of tomatoes, which are native to South America.

Although most domesticated varieties, which have been bred to produce edible, delicious fruit, produce a single inflorescence branch with just a few flowers, some varieties make dozens of branches bearing hundreds of flowers. "Although one might think that all this branching is good, too much branching is not a desirable trait, because the plant spends so much energy on making flowers on those branches that it ends up not having the resources to set those flowers into fruits," explains Lippman. "So there needs to be a balance, which the wild relatives of tomatoes seem to have achieved."

Previous studies hypothesized that extreme branching might be the result of a pause or a delay in the maturation of inflorescence meristems, causing them to sprout extra branches instead of ending their growth by making flowers. "Our previous work as well as those of others hinted at the existence of a timer or clock," Lippman notes. "We wanted to define this clock at the highest resolution, in terms of the genes that modulate the rate of meristem maturation, with the idea that finding the genes that define the clock would enable us to tweak it to get the desired level of branching."

Using a systems biology approach and next-generation sequencing technology to "capture" the transcriptome the activity of all the genes in a genome of stem cells at five different stages of maturation, the team identified nearly 4000 genes that represent the clock. With help from CSHL associate professor and computational biologist Michael Schatz, the team, which included post-doctoral researchers Soon-ju Park and Ke Jiang, compared the clocks of a mutant variety that undergoes extreme branching and a wild relative from Peru that undergoes modest branching.

This analysis revealed that subtle differences in the activity of the clock's genes could alter branching architecture. "Our data showed that wild relatives of tomato have evolved to have a slight delay in maturation, which leads to just a few more branches and a doubling of the number of flowers and fruits compared to what is typically found on cultivated tomatoes grown for ketchup or in the home garden," explains Lippman, who is enthusiastic about the implications of this work and the next steps that his team will take. "We now have a master list of candidate genes that we can go after to manipulate the clock in order to make domesticated tomatoes produce a branching architecture that's similar to the wild variety," he says.

###

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program and the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization.

"The rate of meristem maturation determines inflorescence architecture in tomato" appears in the online early edition of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of December 26. The full citation is: Soon Ju park, Ke Jiang, Michael C. Schatz and Zachary B. Lippman. The paper can be downloaded at: http://www.pnas.org.

About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Founded in 1890, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has shaped contemporary biomedical research and education with programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology and quantitative biology. CSHL is ranked number one in the world by Thomson Reuters for impact of its research in molecular biology and genetics. The Laboratory has been home to eight Nobel Prize winners. Today, CSHL's multidisciplinary scientific community is more than 350 scientists strong and its Meetings & Courses program hosts more than 11,000 scientists from around the world each year. Tens of thousands more benefit from the research, reviews, and ideas published in journals and books distributed internationally by CSHL Press. The Laboratory's education arm also includes a graduate school and programs for undergraduates as well as middle and high school students and teachers. CSHL is a private, not-for-profit institution on the north shore of Long Island. For more information, visit http://www.cshl.edu.

---

[ | 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.

Public release date: 26-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Hema Bashyam
bashyam@cshl.edu
516-367-8455
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Manipulating the clock might provide agricultural benefits, as a slower clock increases branching, thereby increasing flower number and fruit yield

Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. The secret to pushing tomato plants to produce more fruit might not lie in an extra dose of Miracle-Gro. Instead, new research from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) suggests that an increase in fruit yield might be achieved by manipulating a molecular timer or so-called "maturation clock" that determines the number of branches that make flowers, called inflorescences.

"We have found that a delay in this clock causes more branching to occur in the inflorescences, which in turn results in more flowers and ultimately, more fruits," says CSHL Assistant Professor Zach Lippman, who led the research team. The new study, which involved a high-resolution, genome-level comparison of the stem cell populations from three tomato varieties that each have different branching architectures, will appear online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of December 26.

When a plant is ready to flower, populations of stem cells, called shoot apical meristems, which are found in the growing tips, stop producing leaves and begin producing flowers by transforming into "inflorescence meristems." Depending on the tomato variety, inflorescences meristems can make just one branch with a few flowers arranged in the familiar, photogenic zigzag pattern (shown), or multiple branches with dozens of flowers, as seen in closely-related wild relatives of tomatoes, which are native to South America.

Although most domesticated varieties, which have been bred to produce edible, delicious fruit, produce a single inflorescence branch with just a few flowers, some varieties make dozens of branches bearing hundreds of flowers. "Although one might think that all this branching is good, too much branching is not a desirable trait, because the plant spends so much energy on making flowers on those branches that it ends up not having the resources to set those flowers into fruits," explains Lippman. "So there needs to be a balance, which the wild relatives of tomatoes seem to have achieved."

Previous studies hypothesized that extreme branching might be the result of a pause or a delay in the maturation of inflorescence meristems, causing them to sprout extra branches instead of ending their growth by making flowers. "Our previous work as well as those of others hinted at the existence of a timer or clock," Lippman notes. "We wanted to define this clock at the highest resolution, in terms of the genes that modulate the rate of meristem maturation, with the idea that finding the genes that define the clock would enable us to tweak it to get the desired level of branching."

Using a systems biology approach and next-generation sequencing technology to "capture" the transcriptome the activity of all the genes in a genome of stem cells at five different stages of maturation, the team identified nearly 4000 genes that represent the clock. With help from CSHL associate professor and computational biologist Michael Schatz, the team, which included post-doctoral researchers Soon-ju Park and Ke Jiang, compared the clocks of a mutant variety that undergoes extreme branching and a wild relative from Peru that undergoes modest branching.

This analysis revealed that subtle differences in the activity of the clock's genes could alter branching architecture. "Our data showed that wild relatives of tomato have evolved to have a slight delay in maturation, which leads to just a few more branches and a doubling of the number of flowers and fruits compared to what is typically found on cultivated tomatoes grown for ketchup or in the home garden," explains Lippman, who is enthusiastic about the implications of this work and the next steps that his team will take. "We now have a master list of candidate genes that we can go after to manipulate the clock in order to make domesticated tomatoes produce a branching architecture that's similar to the wild variety," he says.

###

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program and the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization.

"The rate of meristem maturation determines inflorescence architecture in tomato" appears in the online early edition of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of December 26. The full citation is: Soon Ju park, Ke Jiang, Michael C. Schatz and Zachary B. Lippman. The paper can be downloaded at: http://www.pnas.org.

About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Founded in 1890, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has shaped contemporary biomedical research and education with programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology and quantitative biology. CSHL is ranked number one in the world by Thomson Reuters for impact of its research in molecular biology and genetics. The Laboratory has been home to eight Nobel Prize winners. Today, CSHL's multidisciplinary scientific community is more than 350 scientists strong and its Meetings & Courses program hosts more than 11,000 scientists from around the world each year. Tens of thousands more benefit from the research, reviews, and ideas published in journals and books distributed internationally by CSHL Press. The Laboratory's education arm also includes a graduate school and programs for undergraduates as well as middle and high school students and teachers. CSHL is a private, not-for-profit institution on the north shore of Long Island. For more information, visit http://www.cshl.edu.

---

[ | 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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/cshl-sua122211.php

emergency alert system chelsea handler alexander the great alabama football 21 jump street 19 kids and counting 2011 election results

The Need For Speed: A Timeline of Notable Land Speed Records

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/vintage-speed/the-need-for-speed-a-timeline-of-notable-land-speed-records?src=rss

farrah abraham whats going on venus williams bowl projections bedlam bedlam cotto vs margarito 2

TiPb Asks: So? what iPhone and iPad gifts did you get this year?!

So, what awesome iOS devices — iPhones, iPads, iPod touch, Apple TVs — did you get this year for Christmas, Hanukkah, or just because? What awesome accessories were in your stockings? What amazing apps were gifted your way? Naughty or nice, TiPb Nation, we know you’re ripping the wrapping...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/vd5mY0ucHzc/story01.htm

xbox live update new planet new planet green bay packers stock jeff garcia jeff garcia big east

It?s an iPod!

I think she likes it. Via: @alli_flowers

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/OozdX6sASAc/story01.htm

bishop eddie long chicago news chicago news barnaby barnaby giuliana rancic giuliana rancic

dcjohnson: RT @thinkprogress: FACT: Obama's job-crushing economic policies have created 1.67 million private sector jobs in 2011 #bestof11

• Passer la navigation
• Twitter sur votre mobile ? Cliquez ici m.twitter.com!
• Passer cette ?tape
• Connexion

• Connexion
• Rejoignez Twitter !

FACT: Obama's job-crushing economic policies have created 1.67 million private sector jobs in 2011 #bestof11 Il y a environ 5 heures via TweetDeck Retweeted by 88 people

thinkprogress

ThinkProgress

Pied de page

• ? 2011 Twitter
• ? propos de nous
• Contact
• Blog
• Statut
• Ressources
• API
• Entreprises
• Aide
• Offres d'emploi
• Conditions
• Confidentialit?

Source: http://twitter.com/dcjohnson/statuses/150709663426547713

patrice tether lana peters lana peters jennifer nettles jennifer nettles giants vs saints

RamonaSentinel: Local in Ramona: Timeout with Tambo: Former Bulldog is on his way to living every young baseball player?s dream http://t.co/YKuWxs0N #Ramona

Local in Ramona: Timeout with Tambo: Former Bulldog is on his way to living every young baseball player?s dream Il y a environ 10 heures via web

Source: http://twitter.com/RamonaSentinel/statuses/150284143614369792

san francisco earthquake nextdoor premier fitness dan uggla kryptos student loan forgiveness amy winehouse cause of death

Brady leads comeback, Patriots top Dolphins 27-24 (AP)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. ? The New England Patriots emphasize playing well for 60 minutes every game. On Saturday, 30 was enough ? barely.

Rallying from their worst half of the season, the Patriots scored on their next five possessions and clinched a playoff bye with a 27-24 win over the Miami Dolphins on Saturday.

"You don't want to, certainly, make a habit of this," said Tom Brady, who scored on two 1-yard sneaks and threw for a 1-yard touchdown. "We showed some resiliency."

New England (12-3) won its seventh straight game. After the Houston Texans lost to the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night, the Patriots needed a win or a tie to lock up one of the top two spots in the AFC.

"It's good to clinch," said Deion Branch, who caught the touchdown pass from Brady, "but not by the way we played. It's not the way you want to do it."

Miami (5-10) lost for the third time in eight games after opening at 0-7 and is 1-1 under Todd Bowles, who took over when Tony Sparano was fired.

"First half we came out and played our tempo and our ballgame," Bowles said. "The second half they made us play theirs."

The AFC East champions trailed 17-0 at halftime but made the necessary adjustments and went to their no-huddle offense more, keeping the Dolphins from making defensive substitutions. And Brady was on target after a first half in which heavy defensive pressure against a makeshift offensive line affected his accuracy. He completed just 7 of 19 passes for 87 yards and was sacked three times in the half.

But in the second half, he completed 20 of 27 passes for 217 yards, finishing at 27 for 46 for 304 yards and leading one scoring drive after another ? a 45-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski, the scoring pass to Branch, his own sneak that tied the game, Gostkowski's 42-yard go-ahead kick after Devin McCourty's first interception of the year, and the other sneak with 2:56 to go, making it 27-17.

The Dolphins made it closer on Matt Moore's 15-yard scoring pass to Davone Bess with 1:48 to play. They had three timeouts left, but their hopes faded when Brady hit Wes Welker for a 6-yard gain and a first down.

"We had (Brady's) number in the first half, but in the second half he came out and made a lot of plays," Miami linebacker Karlos Dansby said. "He is a coach on the field."

The Dolphins seemed headed for a victory and got a break even before the game started when Patriots left tackle Matt Light hurt his ankle in warmups and didn't play. Left guard Logan Mankins took his spot, but he left with a knee injury suffered on New England's second series.

"There's always things that are going to go wrong in a football game and things aren't going to work out the way you want them to all the time," said Welker, who finished with 12 catches for 138 yards after managing just two for 20 in the first half. "The main thing is just playing a full 60 minutes and never giving in and understanding that one drive and one score (can) get things going."

The Patriots punted on their first six series of the first half then missed a field goal on the other. The Dolphins struggled in the second half when Moore fumbled the snap at his 38-yard line and Vince Wilfork recovered, starting the drive capped by Branch's touchdown.

"They committed penalties in the first half," Dolphins guard Richie Incognito said. "We turned the ball over and committed penalties in the second half. That is never a good recipe."

Reggie Bush had another outstanding game for Miami with his fourth straight rushing day of at least 100 yards. He finished with 113 on 22 carries one week after gaining a career-high 203 yards.

His latest performance gave him 1,086 yards rushing for the season, the first time in his six years, the first five with the New Orleans Saints, that he passed 1,000.

"It really doesn't mean anything right now," he said. "This one's pretty tough."

The Dolphins had taken a 3-0 lead on Dan Carpenter's 47-yard field goal 4:01 into the game and made it 10-0 with 1:15 gone in the second quarter on Moore's 19-yard pass to Brandon Marshall.

They stretched that to 17-0, the Patriots biggest deficit of the season, on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Moore to Charles Clay. The 89-yard drive was helped by two defensive pass interference penalties on third down.

But the Patriots remained calm in the locker room at intermission.

"There wasn't a bunch of yelling," Wilfork said. "We just came in and said we've got to play better, we've got to make more plays."

They did. The Dolphins didn't.

"Our guys fought," Bowles said, "but we didn't finish."

Notes: Welker set a franchise record for one season with 1,518 yards receiving. He broke the mark of 1,493 set by Randy Moss in 2007. ... Bush was checked my medical personnel on the sideline late in the game "Something in my leg just didn't feel right," he said. "I'm walking. If it was serious, I wouldn't be walking." ... Moore completed 17 of 33 passes for 294 yards, his highest total as a Dolphin. He threw for more than that with the Carolina Panthers once in 2009 and once in 2010. ... The victory was the largest comeback by the Patriots from a second-half deficit since Nov. 10, 2002 when they beat the Chicago Bears 33-30 after trailing 27-6 in the third quarter.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111224/ap_on_sp_fo_ga_su/fbn_dolphins_patriots

nba lockout news gifts for mom gifts for mom pepper spray storage auctions storage auctions les miles

The Art of the Adventures of Tintin for iPad

This entry needs translation. To help us and submit a translation please click here

Fans of the new Tintin movie will love 'The Art of the Adventures of Tintin' app for the iPad.

---
The Art of the Adventures of Tintin features 360? Immersive Environments, 360? Turnaround Characters, Video Clips and Exclusive new content, as a part of the narrative that turns the amazing story and evolution of Herg?'s original artwork into the blockbuster 3D performance captured in the film directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy.

Based on content from the beautifully presented book, the Art of the Adventures of Tintin by Chris Guise, the app takes the reader further into the story by exploring and interacting with various features throughout the book. Readers are able to see the transformation of concept illustrations into final shots from the film, as well as listen to the artists and filmmakers who worked on the film, including Oscar Winners Joe Letteri and Richard Taylor. Joe Letteri and Richard Taylor also share their insights into the filmmaking experience in their video introductions for this outstanding book. The die-hard Tintin fan can also take pleasure in the inclusion of never before published footage of Herg? working in his studio as well as never seen before concept art and interactive features.
---

You can purchase The Art of the Adventures of Tintin from the App Store for $5.99.

Read More

0 comments [add] | 1659 views Tweet

Recent Apple News Entries
2011-12-24 04:03:45 - Every 60 Seconds Apple Sells 925 iPhone 4s and 85 iPads [InfoGraphic]
2011-12-24 01:25:56 - Apple's Newstand Boosts Subscription Sales for Popular Science
2011-12-23 20:01:44 - Apple to Launch the iPad 3 on Steve Jobs' Birthday?
2011-12-23 18:18:10 - Note Describes Steve Jobs As Secretive 'Joker' Who 'Sounds Flakey'
2011-12-23 17:50:12 - The Art of the Adventures of Tintin for iPad
2011-12-23 17:28:49 - Air Dictate Uses Siri for Text Entry on Your Mac
2011-12-23 17:19:28 - Action Movie FX Let's You Add Crazy Special Effects to Your iPhone Videos
2011-12-23 16:20:18 - International iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match Availability
2011-12-23 06:10:51 - LogMeIn Releases a Free Version of its Mac/PC Remote Control App for iOS
2011-12-23 03:19:56 - Quicken 2007 Will Be Compatible With Mac OS X Lion By 'Early Spring'
[more][rss]

Follow iClarified

Follow @iClarified The iClarified Newsletter is sent once a day and includes any news or tutorials posted in the last 24 hours. To signup for the Newsletter click here. Make sure you choose "Yes" to be added to our Mailing List.

Source: http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=18969

collegeboard kelsey grammer dallas cowboys 49ers chargers giants

Just Show Me: How to set up email on your Kindle Fire (Yahoo! News)

Welcome to?Just Show Me on?Tecca TV, where we show you tips and tricks for getting the most out of the?gadgets in your life. In today's episode we'll show you how to set up email on your?Kindle Fire.

Email on a tablet makes the entire email experience much more personal. Instead of sitting at your computer responding to messages, you can be sitting out in your living room relaxing and replying. And not only is sending out messages easy, so is reading them on a tablet; in fact, it's practically like reading a book at times.

If you'd like more information on Amazon's tablet, check out our?Kindle Fire guide.

For more episodes of Just Show Me,?subscribe to Tecca TV's YouTube channel and?check out all our Just Show Me episodes. If you have any topics you'd like to see us cover, just drop us a line in the comments.

This article originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/techblog/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20111222/tc_yblog_technews/just-show-me-how-to-set-up-email-on-your-kindle-fire

five iron frenzy wild horses lyrics sweet potato recipes green bean casserole recipe karina smirnoff pumpkin cheesecake deviled eggs

We know that a lot of our Facebook fans and followers are artists, or at the ver...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/spokeart/posts/344850912196397

oakland texas judge texas judge tom brokaw maria shriver andy irons ethan zohn

Review: Spielberg can't pull off mo-cap in "Tintin" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Netflix Instant can't wash your car. An IMAX sound system can't pilot an aircraft carrier. And motion-capture animation can't make non-creepy-looking human characters. All that may change one day, but the technology hasn't yet caught up.

And if there were any doubt that mo-cap hasn't leapt the chasm past the "uncanny valley" that makes human forms look weird and off-putting, "The Adventures of Tintin" would seem to indicate that neither Steven Spielberg nor Peter Jackson has figured it out. And if these guys still aren't all able to pull it off, we should all just agree that it can't be done, period.

Motion-capture has had its triumphs, from the stunning Na'vi of "Avatar" to Andy Serkis's moving, award-worthy performance as Caesar in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." And while the faces of Tintin and his friends represent a quantum leap past earlier efforts like "The Polar Express" and "Mars Needs Moms," they're still spooky and not quite expressive enough.

It certainly doesn't help that boy adventurer Tintin has existed until now as a two-dimensional figure on the printed page and on TV: Belgian artist Herge's crisp line drawings are legendary, and director Spielberg and producer Jackson certainly could have made a stunning 2-D animated film based on the original character designs.

Instead, sadly, they've mucked about with an it-ain't-broke original, compounding their folly by entrusting the characters to this still-imperfect technology. In the final wash, only Snowy the Dog comes off with any kind of visual appeal.

Something of an origin story, "The Adventures of Tintin" follows the titular teen journalist (Jamie Bell) as he gets caught up in a globe-spanning adventure involving ships in bottles, secret passageways, and hidden scrolls. He is helped along the way by the hard-drinking Captain Haddock (Serkis) -- he and Tintin meet for the first time here -- and bumbling detectives Thompson (Simon Pegg) and Thomson (Nick Frost).

Spielberg takes advantage of the freedoms of animation, sending his camera on cannonball trajectories and zooming up the masts of pirate ships, but the action sequences blur together while lacking any sense of rhythm or pacing. If you were expecting a bracing, thrilling "Raiders of the Lost Ark," what we get here is more like a muddled, busy "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." By the time two characters attack each other with giant dockside cranes, it feels like the entire film has descended into a series of loud metallic clangs.

For all the millions of dollars that were no doubt shoveled into this A-list effort, there was a funnier and more exciting action film made this year at just a fraction of the cost: "Attack the Block," from "Tintin" co-writers Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright.

Good on them for getting a high-paying gig on a Spielberg project, but this is one of those cases where the up-and-coming employees could apparently teach the big boss a thing or two.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111221/film_nm/us_tintin_review

hurd hurd christopher hitchens ron paul 2012 extremely loud and incredibly close zynga stock zynga stock

Newt Gingrich Wants ?You? to Stop the Negative Ads (ABC News)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/176836326?client_source=feed&format=rss

xfactor prime rib frankincense mega millions the hobbit movie cloudy with a chance of meatballs joyful noise

Amundsen's South Pole feat remembered 100 years on (AP)

OSLO, Norway ? Polar adventurers, scientists and the prime minister of Norway gathered at the bottom of the world Wednesday to mark the 100th anniversary of explorer Roald Amundsen becoming the first to reach the South Pole.

Under a crystal blue sky and temperatures of minus 40 F (minus 40 C), the group remembered the Norwegian explorer's achievement on the spot where he placed his flag on Dec. 14, 1911.

"We are here to celebrate one of the greatest feats in human history," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said as he unveiled an ice sculpture of Amundsen.

Several expeditions skied across Antarctica to attend the ceremony, which was broadcast on Norway's NRK television. Many were delayed and had to be flown the last stretch.

"Our respect for Amundsen's feat 100 years ago grew as we traveled in his ski tracks, and felt the physical challenges he experienced," said Jan-Gunnar Winther, director of the Norwegian Polar Institute.

Winther dropped out of an expedition trying to follow Amundsen's entire route, skiing 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) to the South Pole, and was airlifted the last part. Two other members of his group were racing against the clock to reach the South Pole on Wednesday.

Stoltenberg also honored British explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who lost the race against Amundsen and arrived at the South Pole more than month later, only to find Amundsen's tent, a Norwegian flag and a letter from Amundsen. Scott and four companions died on the way out.

"Scott and his men will forever be remembered for their valor and their determination to reach the most inhospitable place on earth," Stoltenberg said.

Amundsen and his team spent almost two months skiing across the frozen Ross Sea, climbing steep hills to the Antarctic plateau at about 9,800 feet (3,000 meters) and crossing vast ice fields to reach the pole.

During the preparations they placed several depots of food and supplies along parts of the route before the final assault toward the pole. Once there, they spent three days doing scientific measurements before starting the return trip.

Experts agree that Amundsen succeeded because he was better-prepared than Scott. Amundsen used skis and dog sleds, while Scott used motorized sleds that broke down and ponies that couldn't take the cold. The men ended up pulling their sleds themselves.

Amundsen's well-marked depots contained over three tons of supplies, while Scott had fewer and badly marked depots the expedition often couldn't find in the blizzards and cold.

In contrast to the bitter competition between Amundsen and Scott, Stoltenberg pointed out that the South Pole today is marked by international cooperation, regulated by the Antarctic treaty, where peace and stability, environmental activity and scientific research are in focus.

Among the most important fields of research are global warming and its effects on Antarctica.

"The loss of ice in the Antarctic can have grave global consequences. Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott and their men went to extraordinary lengths to accomplish their goals. We must be prepared to do the same," Stoltenberg said, alluding to the struggle against climate change.

Scientists and support personnel from the U.S. Antarctic Program at the Amundsen-Scott research station at the South Pole took part in the ceremony, and stressed the occasion was a special day not only for Norway.

"It's also a special day in human history since the real discovery of the last of the great continents started," said Simon Stephenson, who represented USAP.

The USAP had not wanted a new permanent monument by the scientific base, but the ice sculpture is bound to stay put for a long time since temperatures at the South Pole rarely rise above freezing.

Amundsen disappeared aboard a French Latham 47 flying boat in the Barents Sea on June 18, 1928. The plane had been searching for the gas-filled airship "Italia," which crashed when returning from the North Pole during an expedition led by Italian aeronautical engineer Umberto Nobile.

___

Associated Press writer Karl Ritter in Stockholm contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111214/ap_on_re_eu/eu_antarctica_amundsen_centennial

tj houshmandzadeh tj houshmandzadeh san onofre the little couple bubba smith bubba smith oakland strike