Launching fashion critique to new heights, Kelly Osbourne and the iconic Joan Rivers presented a handful of celebrity lookalikes on their Halloween-themed show.
Rivers depicted an over-sized Miley Cyrus in a fat suit, complete with her iconic KISS-like tongue, while Osbourne showed some skin as the busty Christina Hendricks. The show's hosts came out to display an entire line of celebrity effigies on Friday's (October 25) episode.
Giuliana Rancic, Sofia Vergara and Lena Dunham were all represented in outrageous spoofs by the entire cast of the fashion-crazed stars of the E! series.
Kelly tweeted about the fun-filled presentation, writing, "e_fashionpolice #halloween special me as #christinahendricks @giulianarancic as #Sofiavergara…" One of her more specific tweets read, "I hope I did her justice!! PS I had to wear three bras!!"
Contact: Dr. Harald W. Platta Harald.Platta@rub.de 49-234-322-4968 Ruhr-University Bochum
2 opposing mechanisms regulate the transport of proteins in peroxisomes
Recycling or "scrap press": physicians at the Ruhr-Universitt have found out which molecular mechanisms decide about the fate of the import receptor Pex18. Pex18 is responsible for the import of proteins into specific cell components, namely peroxisomes. Two opposing regulatory circuits determine whether the receptor remains active or is broken down after the transport has been completed. "Thus, the picture of the regulation of the protein import into peroxisomes has been completed and integrated to form one single model," says Junior Professor Dr Harald Platta from the RUB Faculty of Medicine. Together with Prof Dr Ralf Erdmann and other colleagues he reports in the journal "Traffic".
Ubiquitin signals determine the fate of the receptors
Because they don't have their own DNA, peroxisomes have to import all proteins that are necessary for them to fulfil their function. For this purpose, the cell is equipped with dynamic import receptors such as Pex18. They bind proteins in the cytoplasm and transport them to the peroxisome. The RUB team had demonstrated in a previous study that the signal protein ubiquitin subsequently decides about the future fate of the receptors: if a single ubiquitin protein docks with the receptor, the receptor gets recycled; it migrates back into the cytoplasm and launches a new transport process. If an ubiquitin chain docks with the receptor, a signal is sent out for the receptor to be broken down by the proteasome, an "intracellular scrap press", so to speak. Prior to this discovery, it had not been understood in what way the cell determines on the molecular level what happens to the receptor.
Recycling or "scrap press": It all depends on the enzyme cascade
The RUB physicians found out that different enzyme cascades catalyse the two ubiquitin modifications of Pex18. In both cases, it is a three-step process: the E1 enzyme activates the ubiquitin signal which is subsequently transferred by the E2 enzyme and, eventually, coordinated by the E3 enzyme to dock with the receptor. By analysing yeast cells, the Bochum physicians found out that E2 and E3 enzymes occur in different variations, whereas there is only one type of the E1 enzyme. The docking of one single ubiquitin and an ubiquitin chain is determined by different combinations of E2 and E3 enzymes. "That means two opposing molecular machines determine the fate of the import receptor Pex18," says Harald Platta. "This discovery illustrates just how precisely the receptor's control is calibrated and how precisely the regulation associated with it is effected for the entire peroxisomal function. This project constitutes a crucial foundation for further research into the molecular causes of peroxisomal disorders."
Peroxisomes: The cell's multi-functional tools
Peroxisomes are important reaction states within the cell. They may contain up to 50 enzymes which are crucial for breaking down of fatty acids, for the disposal of hydrogen peroxide and the generation of plasmalogens which are an important component of the brain's white matter. A disruption of the protein import in peroxisomes has a negative impact on the entire metabolism and may be fatal especially for newborns.
###
Bibliographic record
F. El Magraoui, R. Brinkmeier, A. Schrtter, W. Girzalsky, T. Mller, K. Marcus, H.E. Meyer, R. Erdmann, H.W. Platta (2013): Distinct ubiquitination cascades act on the PTS2-co-receptor Pex18p, Traffic, DOI: 10.1111/tra.12120
Figure online
A figure related to this press release can be found online at: http://aktuell.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/pm2013/pm00269.html.en
Further information
Jun.-Prof Dr Harald W. Platta, Physiological Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine at the Ruhr-Universitt, 44780 Bochum, Germany, phone +49/234/32-24968, email: Harald.Platta@rub.de
One click away
Earlier press release regarding protein import in peroxisomes
http://aktuell.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/pm2011/pm00233.html.de
Editor: Dr Julia Weiler
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The yin and yang in the life of proteins
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
22-Oct-2013
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Contact: Dr. Harald W. Platta Harald.Platta@rub.de 49-234-322-4968 Ruhr-University Bochum
2 opposing mechanisms regulate the transport of proteins in peroxisomes
Recycling or "scrap press": physicians at the Ruhr-Universitt have found out which molecular mechanisms decide about the fate of the import receptor Pex18. Pex18 is responsible for the import of proteins into specific cell components, namely peroxisomes. Two opposing regulatory circuits determine whether the receptor remains active or is broken down after the transport has been completed. "Thus, the picture of the regulation of the protein import into peroxisomes has been completed and integrated to form one single model," says Junior Professor Dr Harald Platta from the RUB Faculty of Medicine. Together with Prof Dr Ralf Erdmann and other colleagues he reports in the journal "Traffic".
Ubiquitin signals determine the fate of the receptors
Because they don't have their own DNA, peroxisomes have to import all proteins that are necessary for them to fulfil their function. For this purpose, the cell is equipped with dynamic import receptors such as Pex18. They bind proteins in the cytoplasm and transport them to the peroxisome. The RUB team had demonstrated in a previous study that the signal protein ubiquitin subsequently decides about the future fate of the receptors: if a single ubiquitin protein docks with the receptor, the receptor gets recycled; it migrates back into the cytoplasm and launches a new transport process. If an ubiquitin chain docks with the receptor, a signal is sent out for the receptor to be broken down by the proteasome, an "intracellular scrap press", so to speak. Prior to this discovery, it had not been understood in what way the cell determines on the molecular level what happens to the receptor.
Recycling or "scrap press": It all depends on the enzyme cascade
The RUB physicians found out that different enzyme cascades catalyse the two ubiquitin modifications of Pex18. In both cases, it is a three-step process: the E1 enzyme activates the ubiquitin signal which is subsequently transferred by the E2 enzyme and, eventually, coordinated by the E3 enzyme to dock with the receptor. By analysing yeast cells, the Bochum physicians found out that E2 and E3 enzymes occur in different variations, whereas there is only one type of the E1 enzyme. The docking of one single ubiquitin and an ubiquitin chain is determined by different combinations of E2 and E3 enzymes. "That means two opposing molecular machines determine the fate of the import receptor Pex18," says Harald Platta. "This discovery illustrates just how precisely the receptor's control is calibrated and how precisely the regulation associated with it is effected for the entire peroxisomal function. This project constitutes a crucial foundation for further research into the molecular causes of peroxisomal disorders."
Peroxisomes: The cell's multi-functional tools
Peroxisomes are important reaction states within the cell. They may contain up to 50 enzymes which are crucial for breaking down of fatty acids, for the disposal of hydrogen peroxide and the generation of plasmalogens which are an important component of the brain's white matter. A disruption of the protein import in peroxisomes has a negative impact on the entire metabolism and may be fatal especially for newborns.
###
Bibliographic record
F. El Magraoui, R. Brinkmeier, A. Schrtter, W. Girzalsky, T. Mller, K. Marcus, H.E. Meyer, R. Erdmann, H.W. Platta (2013): Distinct ubiquitination cascades act on the PTS2-co-receptor Pex18p, Traffic, DOI: 10.1111/tra.12120
Figure online
A figure related to this press release can be found online at: http://aktuell.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/pm2013/pm00269.html.en
Further information
Jun.-Prof Dr Harald W. Platta, Physiological Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine at the Ruhr-Universitt, 44780 Bochum, Germany, phone +49/234/32-24968, email: Harald.Platta@rub.de
One click away
Earlier press release regarding protein import in peroxisomes
http://aktuell.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/pm2011/pm00233.html.de
Editor: Dr Julia Weiler
[
| 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.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is asking Congress to hold off on enacting new sanctions against Iran. It says a pause in the push to impose new penalties would give negotiators flexibility in talks now underway to get Iran to comply with demands it prove its nuclear program is peaceful.
Even as U.S. officials argue that tough sanctions are what brought Iran to the negotiating table in the first place, the White House and State Department said Friday the administration wants lawmakers to wait on new sanctions legislation to give the negotiations time to get traction. Some lawmakers have argued that now is not the time to ease pressure and that pursuing new sanctions will give the U.S. additional leverage in the talks.
But, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said it was the consensus of the administration's national security teams that a pause "would be helpful in terms of providing some flexibility while we see if these negotiations will move forward." She said the position was delivered to lawmakers and congressional aides at a White House meeting on Thursday.
"We have conveyed that any congressional action should be aligned with our negotiating strategy as we move forward. So while we understand that Congress may consider new sanctions, we think this is a time for a pause, as we asked for in the past, to see if negotiations can gain traction," Psaki told reporters.
She noted that additional sanctions can always be imposed later if the Iranians fail to meet their obligations, and she stressed that no existing sanctions are being lifted.
At the White House, national security council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the negotiations would not last indefinitely without progress and movement from Iran, which has long defied international demands to come clean about its nuclear intentions.
"The window for negotiation is not open-ended, and if progress isn't made, there may be a time when more sanctions are, in fact, necessary," Hayden said. "We have always said that there would be no agreement overnight, and we've been clear that this process is going to take some time."
Bipartisan pressure in Congress to ramp up sanctions on Iran has been rising for some time and hit a new high last week after negotiators from the United States, the other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany met with Iranian officials in Geneva.
The chief U.S. negotiator, Wendy Sherman, told Congress before those talks that the administration would support tougher sanctions on Iran if it didn't come to the Geneva talks with "concrete, substantive actions" and a verifiable plan to scale back its nuclear program.
The United States and other world powers fear Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. The Islamic republic says its program is for peaceful energy production, and this week's meetings in part focused on how to scale back its enrichment of material that can be used to generate power or nuclear warhead material.
The Senate Banking Committee is expected soon to draft new sanctions shortly after the government reopens, largely mirroring a House bill that passed overwhelmingly by a 400-20 vote in July and blacklisted Iran's mining and construction sectors. It also called for all Iranian oil sales to end by 2015.
The Senate's bill may narrow that timeframe, block international investment in more economic sectors, try to close off Iran's foreign accounts and tighten Obama's ability to waive requirements for allies and key trading partners who continue to do business with Iran.
Convicted computer hackers could be recruited to join the government's new Joint Cyber Reserve (JCR), the unit's chief has said.
The JCR, announced last month, is expected to be made up of computer experts who will work alongside regular forces to protect the nation's cyber defences.
JCR head Lt Col Michael White told BBC Newsnight that recruitment of cyber-trained reservists would focus their skills rather than "personality traits".
He said: "I think if they [someone with a criminal record for hacking] could get through the security process, then if they had that capability that we would like, then if the vetting authority was happy with that, why not?
"We're looking at capability development, rather than setting hard and fast rules about individual personality traits.
Defence secretary Philip Hammond, who announced the new unit, also said that "each individual case would be looked at on its merits".
"The conviction would be examined in terms of how long ago it was, how serious it was, what sort of sentence had followed. So I can't rule it out," he told Newsnight.
Mixed reception
However, a former hacker said that the UK government's involvement with the mass surveillance unveiled by Edward Snowden had deterred him from using his cyber skills to defend the UK.
Mustafa al-Bassam, who was the youngest hacker in the Lulzsec group and is now a computer science student at King's College London, told Newsnight:
"I can understand the need for a government to protect itself, but when you go ahead and stomp on everyone's civil liberties - as we've seen with all the mass surveillance stories that have been out over the past year - I think you can rest assured that you're going to repel talented people," he said.
The MoD plans to recruit "hundreds" of computer experts as cyber reservists to protect the UK's critical computer networks and safeguard vital data. Cyber attacks were identified as a 'tier one' threat in the government's 2010 National Security Risk Assessment. This is the same category assigned to international terrorism, an international military crisis and a major accident or natural hazard requiring a national response.
The agency said that the initial part of the recruitment process will include a security-focused questionnaire, and that while the applications are open to all, candidates who have received a caution or been convicted of a crime may not be eligible to apply.
No need to sit at home biting your nails come 1PM EDT/10AM PDT, because Apple's given us an nice little surprise in the form of a livestream for today's big iPad unveiling.
Ask Michael Hofmann how he met his girlfriend, Addi, and he'll tell you, with a laugh, "www.Match.com."
He signed up for the online dating site shortly after moving to D.C., last year. He was finding it hard to make connections at bars, he says, and didn't have time to search for more meaningful places to meet people.
He hit the romance jackpot: Addi was the first woman on the site he went on a date with. They both liked The Sound of Music and Harry Potter — but more important, they liked each other. After dating for nine months, they moved in together.
Hofmann is among a growing portion of Americans who are turning to the digital world for matchmaking. Online dating — and social support for it — is at an all-time high.
A new Pew Center study shows that 11 percent of American adults have ventured into the world of online dating, either with websites like Match.com or mobile apps. That's up from 3 percent using dating sites in 2008.
(Among Americans who are "single and currently looking" for a partner, the percentage of online daters is closer to 4 in 10.)
Nearly a quarter of online daters have met a spouse or long-term partner digitally. Nearly half use Match.com; nearly a quarter use eHarmony.
Pew Survey Highlights
11 percent of American adults say they've used online dating sites or mobile apps
23 percent of online daters say they've met a spouse or long-term relationship through these sites
42 percent of Americans know an online dater
29 percent of Internet users with recent dating experience have gone online to find out more about someone they were dating
In 2005, only 15 percent of Americans said they knew someone who met a long-term partner online; now, that number has doubled. Unsurprisingly, this correlates with an increase in positive perceptions about it. More Americans now say it's a good way to meet people and that it allows people to find a better match.
Hofmann has found this to be true: He says people are generally excited when he says he met his girlfriend online. Several have said the story encourages them to try online dating themselves.
Still, he acknowledges there's a stigma attached to it. At the beginning of the relationship, he told people they met at a restaurant.
And according to the Pew poll, a "sizable minority" of Internet users still view it in a negative light.
"Even some online daters seem to find both the process itself — and the individuals they encounter on these sites — distasteful," the report says.
One in five Internet users, and 13 percent of online daters, agree with the statement that "online daters are desperate."
That might stem from the fact that the results online can be disappointing. The percentage who've felt that someone else has been "seriously misrepresented" in an online profile? More than half.
This seems to be a problem as old as online dating itself. A 2003 New York Times article detailed anecdotes of fraudulently altered height, weight, age and even zip code.
"But what is most persistently frustrating, veteran online daters say, is not so much the obvious lies as the difficulty in judging physical chemistry through virtual communication.
" 'Certain things look really good on paper,' said Rebecca Hammond, a computer consultant in Manhattan who has met several boyfriends through Nerve.com. 'Then in real life it's a completely different story.' "
There's also the issue of bad communication. Lisa Bonos mused in The Washington Post about the nuanced difficulties of ending relationships online, which may seem fitting if you begin one there.
"A digital rejection can be efficient and effective: The dumper can control the message; the dumpee can't interrupt or argue. No body language to misread, no tears to witness, no awkward hugs and no breakup sex. But ... a face-to-face breakup vs. splitting up digitally is the difference between ending a romance with a namaste bow or using a karate chop."
But then again, none of these problems is unheard of in the world of in-person dating, either. As Bonos says: "When was the last time you were rejected and thought: 'Ah, that felt good'?"
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting an independent investigation of the fatal shooting of a popular 13-year-old boy by a sheriff's deputy in Northern California.
Sheriff Steve Freitas said in a statement Friday afternoon that he will cooperate fully with federal investigators and welcomes their participation in the probe of Andy Lopez's killing on Tuesday afternoon. The shooting has generated numerous protests and marches in the suburban town of Santa Rosa, with many residents questioning the deputy's decision to fire on the youth.
Freitas also expressed sympathy to the Lopez family and thanked the Santa Rosa community for keeping protests peaceful.
Police say Lopez was carrying a pellet gun that looked like an AK-47 assault rifle.
A timeline released Thursday by the Santa Rosa police shows that only 10 seconds passed from the moment that the sheriff's deputy and his partner called dispatch to report a suspicious person to the moment they called back to say shots had been fired.
FBI spokesman Paul Lee said he did not know why his agency decided to get involved or whether local authorities had requested its help.
More than 100 angry middle and high school students walked to City Hall on Friday, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported. Hundreds of people protested earlier in the week.
City police and the Sonoma County district attorney's office are also investigating.
The Santa Rosa Police Department said two deputies in a squad car encountered the hoodie-wearing Lopez just after 3:14 p.m.
Witnesses say at least one of the deputies took cover behind an open front door of the cruiser, and one yelled twice "drop the gun."
Ten seconds after their initial report to dispatch, one of the officers called in "shot have been fired."
Sixteen seconds later, the deputies were calling for medical help. Cruz was later pronounced dead at the scene. The Sonoma County coroner said he found seven "apparent entry wounds," two of them fatal.
The deputies, who have not been identified, have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard after a shooting, officials said.
Assistant Sheriff Lorenzo Duenas told the Press Democrat that the deputy who shot the teen is a 24-year veteran and his partner, who did not fire his weapon, is a new hire.
Santa Rosa police Lt. Paul Henry told the newspaper the deputy who opened fire later told investigators he believed his life as well his partner's was in jeopardy. The deputy said the teen didn't comply with commands to drop the gun and was turning toward the deputies while raising the barrel.
"The deputy's mindset was that he was fearful that he was going to be shot," Henry said at a Wednesday news conference.
Geoffrey Alpert, a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina, said officers are typically justified in the use of deadly force when they sincerely believe lives are at stake.
If the teen was raising the barrel of the gun toward officers, they had little choice about firing, Alpert said.
"If it's a pink bubble gum gun and an obvious fake to most, then there is no reason to shoot," he said. "But if the gun looks real the barrel is being pointed at you ... it's unfortunate, but a perceived threat trumps age and the officers have to protect themselves."
Hundreds of community members marched Wednesday night to remember the teen and protest the shooting.
They covered more than three miles from Santa Rosa City Hall to the field where Andy Lopez was killed. Some lit candles and placed flowers at a makeshift memorial with printed pictures of the victim, stuffed animals and a balloon that read "RIP Andy L."
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