The vote of the European Parliament will be decisive for the future of ACTA. It has already been rejected by the Development, Civil Liberties, Legal Affairs, and Industry committees in the European Parliament, but the big votes are still to take place in the lead Trade committee and with the final Parliament vote. With pro-ACTA lobbying efforts rising by the day, this is no time to reduce the pressure.

All aspects of the opposition to ACTA deserve to be taken into consideration. Many points have been developed inside and outside the Parliament and argued as grounds to reject it. From the preservation of due process to the freedom to conduct business, from the freedom of expression to the protection of generic competition, we made a sample list and sought and gathered more reasons on our webpage.

The following are a list of 50 Reasons to Reject ACTA, gathered with your help, that we will use to convince our fellow MEPs.

1. ACTA is bypassing international fora, such as WIPO and WTO, which is particularly worrying considering the magnitude of the issues it is dealing with.
2. ACTA was negotiated in a totally non transparent way, which is unacceptable considering the impact the agreement may have on citizens.
3. ACTA establishes the ACTA committee in Article 36 as its own governing body which could lead to amendments of the agreement without any democratic control.
4. ACTA encourages a climate of relegation of the concerns of the public and of public interests that is counterproductive.
5. ACTA threatens the balance of copyright legislations.
6. ACTA locks us into an approach, when we don't know what will be, for instance, the technological evolution in the future.
7. ACTA can lead to the criminalisation of not-for-profit sharing.
8. ACTA encourages the targeting of technical intermediaries to be forced to remove material from the Internet, something that presently requires a court order.
9. ACTA imposes liability rules that will reduce the flexibility of European countries regarding limitation to remedies allowed by the TRIPS agreement to the disadvantage of EU companies, and particularly SMEs.
10. ACTA never mentions fundamental rights, when it clearly could jeopardise some of them and constitutes an offensive against the vision set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
11. ACTA has no provision on freedom on expression, when it can be used by governments and authorities to harm it.
12. ACTA threatens the protection of personal data (art 27.4), which in the case of dissidents, journalists, etc. opens the door to possible punishment and repression.
13. ACTA encourages (including in art. 27.3 and 27.4) measures that in many ways involve a form of monitoring of individual's use of the Internet.
14. ACTA can lead to the recording of personal data of Internet users (as they are defined by Art 2 of the Data Protection Directive 95/4/EC).
15. ACTA is a breach by corporate action to the right of privacy, to data protection, and to the confidentiality of communications, protected by Art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and art 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.
16. ACTA endangers freedom of expression.
17. ACTA establishes legal uncertainties on many levels (art 19) which understandably generates fears from individuals as well as from businesses.
18. ACTA leaves key terms undefined and open to interpretation ("commercial scale", "aiding and abetting", etc).
19. ACTA imposes criminal sanctions (for "aiding and abetting") that are highly problematic.
20. ACTA allows criminalisation to encompass trivial copyright infringement out of proportion and unreasonable in the face of most national legislation.
21. ACTA will have a high cost of maintenance, which in itself is questionable from the point of view of government expenditure, especially in the context of the current economic crisis.
22. ACTA allows the search of details of internet users in breach of due process.
23. ACTA allows pre-emptive sanction, before due process and therefore erodes the rule of law.
24. ACTA does not guarantee fair trials.
25. ACTA favours assumption about infringement, but public action cannot be taken based on assumption and biased information given by the industry.
26. ACTA creates uncertainty for SMEs in ICT sectors that puts them at risk.
27. ACTA allows statutory damages which opens the door to litigation and the risk of large and out of proportion payments.
28. ACTA assumes that one copy equals one lost sale, which is an improper and misleading way to approach both copying and its impacts on business.
29. ACTA gives increasing power to large rights holders against smaller ones and SMEs.
30. ACTA does not encompass measures to avoid or sanction abuses from rights holders when it allows action irrespective of whether claims are legitimate or not.
31. ACTA raises serious competition problems.
32. ACTA weakens SMEs and their capacity to take part to innovation.
33. ACTA jeopardises the multi-stakeholder process in Internet governance that allowed for its success.
34. ACTA paves the way to a balkanisation of the Internet.
35. ACTA is far from being limited to counterfeiting, contrary to the impression that the name of the agreement gives.
36. ACTA fuels the confusion between counterfeiting and patent infringement with a clear risk of decreasing access to generic drugs.
37. ACTA does not tackle the real problem of sub-standard medicines while lauding ineffective and dangerous actions in the name of health protection.
38. ACTA is misleading for policy makers as it creates a hodgepodge, lumping together of different notions and rights that should not be treated the same way.
39. ACTA could affect the whole supply chain of medicines in developing countries (third party liability can include the whole generic supply chain).
40. ACTA targets transit goods which creates an untenable situation from the point of view of trade rules.
41. ACTA mandates ex officio action at a lower standard of proof than TRIPS, such as ex officio border seizure.
42. ACTA escalates border seizure requirements while reducing safeguards.
43. ACTA allows countries to rely on customs officials to perform complex adjudications on IPR issues at the border that they cannot properly exert.
44. ACTA can potentially greatly expand the number of cases of trademark misuse: one could meet the ACTA definition of a crime by intentionally importing a good with a counterfeit label, even if that person did not intentionally create or use the counterfeit label itself.
45. ACTA will have a chilling effect on generic competition, and therefore consequences for access to medicines.
46. ACTA can threaten anybody being in transit with medicines in his/her luggage (5d).
47. ACTA threatens to prevent the development of news business models.
48. ACTA overprotects old business models.
49. ACTA imposes stronger restrictions on the trade in seeds which will threaten future biodiversity and further the corporate cartelisation of the food supply.
50. ACTA is not legally binding in the US while it will be in the EU if ratified

Un studiu realizat de oameni de stiinta de la Universitatea Oxford (Marea Britanie) Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Centre din New York, SUA, si Institutul Rega din Belgia a aratat ca unele virusuri stravechi s-au multiplicat masiv în genomul mamiferelor, în masura atât de mare încât fenomenul ar putea fi comparat cu o epidemie.

Aceste virusuri (numite retrovirusuri endogene) si-au pierdut capacitatea de a se transfera de la o celula la alta, lipsindu-le o gena responsabila de acest transfer; ele ramân în genomul unei celule, petrecându-si tot ciclul de viata acolo. Este un scenariu cu totul surprinzator pentru biologi, aducând în prim-plan ideea ca însusi ADN-ul uman este un mediu de trai si de evolutie pentru virusuri.

Cercetatorii au studiat ADN-ul a 38 de specii de mamifere, printre care soareci, sobolani, elefanti, delfini si oameni.

Ei au descoperiti un virus care a infectat un stramos al mamaiferelor în urma cu cca. 100 milioane de ani (ramasitele acestui virus fiind gasite la aproape toate speciile de mamifere studiate) si un altul care a infectat un stramos al primatelor, urmele sale fiind descoperite în genomul oamenilor si al maimutelor.

În acest moment se stiu prea putine lucruri despre efectul retrovirsurilor endogene asupra sanatatii.

Studiul lor ar putea fi util pentru întelegerea functiilor materialul genetic uman, din care doar 1,5% este implicat direct în procesele vietii organismului uman. Restul este reprezentat de asa-numitul AND "junk", fara o functie cunoscuta, si din ADN provenit de la virusuri si alti paraziti celulari patrunsi si integrati în celule în cursul evolutiei.

Unele portiuni de ADN viral din genomul uman au un rol important în organism - de exemplu, syncytina, o proteina derivata dintr-un virus, contribuie la dezvoltarea placentei.

Studiul ADN-ului de origine virala din celule ar putea face lumina într-o serie de procese, misterioase pâna în prezent, legate de evolutia infectiilor sau a unor boli precum cancerul.

Sursa: BBC News - via Descopera.ro

A month ago, the Connecticut Senate voted 21 to 13 in favor of HB 5389, the Palliative Use of Marijuana Act. The legislation, which allows for the limited use and distribution of cannabis as medicine, comes after federal officials ramped up enforcement actions against state-sanctioned medical marijuana dispensaries last fall, with scores of raids primarily in California.

Since October 2009, the Justice Department has conducted more than 170 SWAT-style raids in nine medical marijuana states, resulting in at least 61 federal indictments, according to data compiled by Americans for Safe Access. The latter group worked with local advocates to help pass the Connecticut law.

“We are encouraged that state officials are standing up to federal intimidation and moving ahead with the passage of important public health laws,” said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, in a statement Friday. “We hope other states follow Connecticut’s lead in passing medical marijuana laws so that patients are not left unprotected and vulnerable to law enforcement actions.”

Although advocates are celebrating the Connecticut victory, they’ve cited a number of issues with the legislation, including prohibitions against patients growing their own pot and a restrictive list of qualifying medical conditions that excludes “chronic pain,” among other commonly cited ailments.

According to the Associated Press:

Malloy said Friday that the law will allow the Department of Consumer Protection to regulate and monitor the use of marijuana in a way that will help avoid problems seen in other states.Patients will be able to obtain marijuana only from certified pharmacists. The law allows for the licensing of at least three but not more than 10 marijuana producers statewide.

Qualifying conditions for patients include cancer, glaucoma, AIDS or HIV, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

Connecticut is the fourth state in New England to legalize medical cannabis and the 17th state since California first made it legal in 1996. Medical marijuana is now permitted in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia.

Source: endalldisease.com - via Huffington Post

La Corte Suprema Usa ha respinto un ricorso avanzato da sette detenuti del carcere nella base Usa di Guantanamo Bay, a Cuba, che contestavano i termini e la legalità della loro detenzione.

La decisione fa seguito ad un pronunciamento del 2008 da parte della stessa Corte Suprema secondo cui i detenuti di Guantanamo hanno il diritto di contestare la legalità della loro detenzione.

I detenuti si erano già rivolti a una Corte d'appello di Washington, che respinse il ricorso.

Source: ansa.it - RIPRODUZIONE RISERVATA © Copyright ANSA

Cercetarea publicata în jurnalul Molecular Psychiatry arata ca violenta nu lasa urme doar pe corpurile copiilor, ci si în interiorul lor, modificându-le ADN-ul.

Oamenii de stiinta au studiat extremitatile cromozomilor, unde se gasesc telomerele, structuri speciale de ADN ce au rolul de a proteja cromozomii (asemanându-se cu structurile de plastic ce se gasesc la capetele sireturilor). Telomerele se scurteaza cu ocazia fiecarei diviziuni a celulelor, pâna când nu se mai pot diviza si mor.

Specialistii au identificat mai multi factori ce duc la scurtarea telomerelor, printre care se numara fumatul, radiatia si factori de stres psihologic precum maltratarea în copilarie sau îngrijirea unei persoane bolnave cronic.

Noua cercetare a examinat daca expunerea la violenta poate face ca telomerele copiilor sa se scurteze mai repede decât în mod normal. Oamenii de stiinta au intervievat mamele a 236 de copii în vârsta de 5, 7 si 10 ani, întrebându-i daca tinerii au fost martori la incidente de violenta domestica între mama si partener, daca au fost maltratati de catre un adult sau daca au fost expusi agresiunilor din partea altor copii. Apoi, cercetatorii au masurat telomerele copiilor la vârsta de 5 ani si la vârsta de 10 ani.

Idan Shalev, conducatorul studiului, a descoperit ca telomerele copiilor expusi la doua tipuri de violenta s-au scurtat mai rapid, ceea ce înseamna ca acesti copii vor dezvolta afectiuni tipice îmbatrânirii, precum atacuri de cord sau pierderea memoriei, cu 7-10 ani mai devreme decât ceilalti copii.

Studiul pare sa confirme concluzia rezultata din mai multe cercetari recente: dificultatile din copilarie îsi lasa amprenta în cromozomi, afectând victimele de-a lungul întregii vieti.

Într-un studiu din 2011 efectuat de specialisti de la Scoala Medicala Harvard asupra copiilor din România s-a observat ca cei care copilarisera în orfelinate prezentau telomere mai scurte decât copii care avusesera parte de asistenta maternala.

„Stim ca stresul este nociv. Acest studiu arata mecanismul prin care acest tip de stres patrunde în gene”, a explicat Nathan Fox, profesor la Universitatea din Maryland.

Sursa: USA Today - via Descopera.ro

"In some wealthy countries, the difference in the quality of life between the older generation and todays youth is the greatest ever recorded," said the WHO director general, speaking at the opening of the body's board meeting.

"Last year was a time when many countries realised they were losing their middle classes, the very foundation of democracy and economic productivity," she said, urging that a commitment to public health must be sustained.

In a text version of her speech Chan cited a recent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report showing income inequality in wealthy nations has reached the worst levels in nearly 25 years.

"That report further concluded that societies with the least inequality had the best health outcomes, regardless of the levels of spending on health," Chan said, noting, "money alone does not buy better health."

She stated: "Those who suffer or who benefit least deserve help from those who benefit most," but this is not what happened last year, particularly in well-off nations, according to numerous reports. In large parts of the developing world vast inequalities in access to health care also exist, she explained.

"But misery, for many groups, for many diseases, is actually going down. Those who benefit least are getting help from those who benefit most," said Chan.

She noted that in the first decade of the 21st century, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis epidemics peaked, beginning a slow decline along with a turn around in a deteriorating malaria situation. "Young child mortality dropped below 10 million for the first time in nearly six decades. Compared with 12 million under-five deaths in 1990, the figure for 2010 was 7.6 million, a drop of more than 40 percent."

Chan said that in sub-Saharan Africa the fall in the under-five mortality rate was accelerating at double the rate it had shown between 1990 and 2000. Maternal deaths worldwide, "the starkest statistic in public health," have also begun to fall, she said. In addition, "In 2009 alone, an estimated 800 million people received preventive chemotherapy for at least one of the neglected tropical diseases."

Source: MedicalXpress - via ZeitNews.org

Verrà usato per le pentole, ma era pensato per le armi nucleari.

Gli inizi di carriera per il Teflon non furono dei più gloriosi, anzi. Prima di invadere le cucine come rivestimento antiaderente di pentole e padelle l’ultimo prodotto di casa DuPont era arrivato nei laboratori dove, durante la Seconda guerra mondiale, si stavano fabbricando le bombe atomiche. C’era finito proprio grazie alle sorprendenti proprietà che lo avevano contraddistinto da subito: era un buon isolante elettrico, chimicamente inerte, impermeabile, resistente alle alte e basse temperature, e soprattutto particolarmente scivoloso. Tutte caratteristiche che lo rendevano il materiale ideale da impiegare negli oggetti con cui maneggiare l' esafluoruro di uranio, corrosivo, usato per la costruzione delle bombe atomiche. Perché invece diventasse un prodotto di uso comune ci sarebbe voluto ancora qualche anno.

Il boom sarebbe arrivato solo nel dopoguerra, consolidandosi poi intorno agli anni Sessanta. Quando ormai erano passati più di vent’anni da quella mattina del  6 aprile 1938, quando il giovane chimico della DuPont, Roy J. Plunkett prendeva nota che le cose, con quell’esperimento, non erano andate esattamente nel modo in cui avrebbero dovuto. E per fortuna.

La scoperta del teflon fu infatti come spesso accade del tutto casuale. Plunkett nei laboratori del New Jersey della DuPont si occupava di sviluppare analoghi di un altro prodotto di punta dell’azienda statunitense: il Freon, cercando di produrre un altro fluido refrigerante. Era convinto che ci sarebbe riuscito servendosi di tetrafluoroetilene (TFE) come prodotto di partenza, fatto reagire con acido cloridrico. Il punto di partenza era innanzi tutto procurarsi il gas, tanto gas, così da averne abbastanza a disposizione per i suoi esperimenti. Una volta ottenuto il TFE lo immagazzinò in un contenitore pressurizzato e lo mise per una notte nel ghiaccio secco.

Ma la mattina successiva aprendo la valvola nessun gas uscì dal contenitore, quasi come fosse vuoto. Eppure quel contenitore pesava. Incuriosito Plunkett sbirciò all’interno, trovandoci dentro della polvere bianca, piuttosto cerosa. I test di laboratorio rivelarono che quella sostanza era estremamente resistente al calore e chimicamente inerte, era il prodotto della polimerizzazione del TFE, ovvero il politetrafluoroetilene (PTFE).

Fu così che quell’ incidente di percorso si trasformò in un vero colpo di fortuna, che la DuPont, la casa del freon ma anche del nylon, seppe trasformare in una miniera d’oro. Plunkett così si mise al lavoro, cercando di riprodurre e ottimizzare le condizioni in cui era avvenuta la polimerizzazione, e ottenne il brevetto della sua fortuita invenzione nel 1941.

Lasciando da parte gli impieghi per la costruzione di armi nucleari, il trampolino di lancio per il teflon furono in parte, così come per il velcro, le missioni spaziali. Il politetrafluoroetilene fu infatti impiegato come sistema di rivestimento delle taniche di carburante dei razzi e perfino nelle divise degli astronauti del programma Apollo. Il successo spaziale avrebbe aperto le porte a quello casalingo.

Ma, intorno agli anni Duemila, il teflon cominciò a essere guardato con sospetto, dopo che negli Usa una sostanza utilizzata per la sua fabbricazione era stata classificata come potenziale cancerogena. Un rischio che avrebbe spinto a rimarcare il corretto uso delle pentole rivestite di teflon: buttandole via e non utilizzandole più nel momento in cui il materiale, da molti definito come il più scivoloso al mondo, si graffi e cominci a staccarsi.

Fonte: Wired.it

Imensa constructie atinge dimensiunile partii de sud a insulei Manhattan. Dupa o serie de pregatiri prealabile, care au durat circa 14 luni, centrala a fost pusa în functiune si poate furniza 605 Megawati - o cantitate de energie suficienta pentru a alimenta un oras de marime medie.

Centrala a fost pusa în functiune pe data de 19 aprilie, anul curent, iar planurile de extindere continua, astfel încât autoritatile spera ca, în anul 2013, centrala sa furnizeze 1.000 Megawati. Centrala a fost construita pe o suprafata de peste 2.000 hectare, în apropierea satului Charanka, districtul Patan, din nordul statului Gujarat.

India intentioneaza ca, pâna în anul 2020, circa 15 % din totalul de energie necesara tarii sa provina din surse nepoluante. Prin comparatie, la ora actuala doar 6% din energia necesara Indiei provine din surse "verzi".

Cu toate acestea, India este deja pe cale sa fie detronata de catre Tunisia. Acest stat nord-african intentioneaza sa inaugureze în anul 2016 o centrala similara, care sa furnizeze energie în cantitate de 2.000 de Megawati.

Centrala din Charanka a costat circa 280 milioane USD si produce aceesi cantitate de energie precum o termocentrala care ar arde anual o cantitate de 900.000 tone de carbuni si gaze. Centrala solara din Gujarat salveaza astfel atmosfera de poluarea anuala cu circa 8 milioane tone de dioxid de carbon.

Sursa: Grist - via Descopera.ro

Procesul de „crestere” dureaza doar câteva saptamâni; se porneste de la celule prelevate din mâna pacientului, rezultând formatiuni tubulare ce pot fi folosite într-o variatate de proceduri medicale: pentru realizarea operatiei de bypass cardiac, pentru ameliorarea starii pacientilor cu boli de rinichi si care necesita dializa sau pentru repararea defectelor congenitale ale inimii la copii.

Încercarile precedente utilizau în general materiale sintetice (care maresc riscul de infectie),iar putinele încercari cu materiale naturale produsesera tuburi care nu erau suficient de rezistente.

Actuala metoda, dezvoltata de cercetatorii firmei americane Cytograft Tissue Engineering, se bazeaza pe cultivarea în laborator a celuleleor extrase chiar de la viitorul pacient.

Mostra de tesut este prelevata de pe dosul mâinii; celulele producatoare de colagen (o proteina ce formeaza fibrele elastice, rezistente, din piele) , sunt mentinute într-un mediu de cultura special, unde se înmultesc, dând nastere unei pelicule subtiri - un strat de celule.

Pelicula este apoi rulata, iar celulele fuzioneaza, formând un tub; tubul este captusit în interior cu un strat format dintr-un alt tip de celule, provenit din vasele de sânge superficiale prelevate odata cu pielea de pe mâna pacientului.

Alternativ, pelicula de celule poate fi taiata în fâsii subtiri, care sunt apoi tesute pe un razboi de tesut miniatural, în mediu steril.

Prin aceasta metoda, pot fi produse, în numai doua luni, tuburi lungi de 20 centimetri.

Tuburile astfel obtinute au fost testate, deocamdata, pe trei pacienti, cu rezultate foarte bune. Nu au existat probleme legate de respingerea transplantului.

Totusi, sunt necesare înca multe cercetari, astfel încât tehnologia ar putea fi disponibila pe piata în 5-10 ani, estimeaza oamenii de stiinta.

Sursa: Mail Online - Sursa foto: Cytograft Tissue Engineering - via Descopera.ro

Completing one orbit in only 18 hours, the alien planet is 26 times closer to its parent star than Mercury is to the Sun. If Earth were in the same position, the soil beneath our feet would heat up to about 3200 F. Researchers have long thought that 55 Cancri e must be a wasteland of parched rock.

Now they’re thinking again. New observations by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope suggest that 55 Cancri e may be wetter and weirder than anyone imagined.

Spitzer recently measured the extraordinarily small amount of light 55 Cancri e blocks when it crosses in front of its star. These transits occur every 18 hours, giving researchers repeated opportunities to gather the data they need to estimate the width, volume and density of the planet.

According to the new observations, 55 Cancri e has a mass 7.8 times and a radius just over twice that of Earth. Those properties place 55 Cancri e in the "super-Earth" class of exoplanets, a few dozen of which have been found. Only a handful of known super-Earths, however, cross the face of their stars as viewed from our vantage point in the cosmos, so 55 Cancri e is better understood than most.

When 55 Cancri e was discovered in 2004, initial estimates of its size and mass were consistent with a dense planet of solid rock. Spitzer data suggest otherwise: About a fifth of the planet's mass must be made of light elements and compounds--including water. Given the intense heat and high pressure these materials likely experience, researchers think the compounds likely exist in a "supercritical" fluid state.

A supercritical fluid is a high-pressure, high-temperature state of matter best described as a liquid-like gas, and a marvelous solvent. Water becomes supercritical in some steam turbines--and it tends to dissolve the tips of the turbine blades. Supercritical carbon dioxide is used to remove caffeine from coffee beans, and sometimes to dry-clean clothes. Liquid-fueled rocket propellant is also supercritical when it emerges from the tail of a spaceship.

On 55 Cancri e, this stuff may be literally oozing--or is it steaming?--out of the rocks.

With supercritical solvents rising from the planet’s surface, a star of terrifying proportions filling much of the daytime sky, and whole years rushing past in a matter of hours, 55 Cancri e teaches a valuable lesson: Just because a planet is similar in size to Earth does not mean the planet is like Earth.

It’s something to re-think about.

Provided by Science@NASA - via ZeitNews.org