Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (JHMRI) have identified, for the first time, the molecular components that enable the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium to infect the salivary glands of the Anopheles mosquito-a critical and final stage for spreading malaria to humans. According to the researchers, saglin, a mosquito salivary protein, is a receptor for the Plasmodium protein Thrombospondin-Related Anonymous Protein (TRAP). The two proteins bind together to allow invasion of the salivary gland by Plasmodium sporozoites, which can be transmitted to a human when bitten by an infected mosquito. The findings are published in the January 16 edition of PLoS Pathogens. Through a series of experiments, JHMRI researchers found that saglin bound with the artificial peptide SM1. The team then developed an antibody to find a protein similar to SM1 that existed naturally in the parasite, which they identified as TRAP. To further prove the interaction between saglin and TRAP, the team conducted experiments to down-regulate, or switch off, saglin expression, which greatly diminished salivary gland invasion in the mosquito. ‘This work is the culmination of a decade-long research project in which peptide libraries were used to understand the mechanisms that the parasite uses to develop in […]
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – After three weeks of living under Israeli fire, thousands of Gazans tentatively emerged Sunday to begin rebuilding their lives as Hamas leaders announced that they would bring their underdog fight against Israel to a temporary halt. Less than 24 hours after Israel declared a unilateral cease-fire in Gaza, Hamas joined the other main Palestinian militant groups in proclaiming a one-week truce. The Palestinian groups vowed to resume their attacks if Israel did not pull all its military forces out of Gaza within a week. But the demand was dismissed by Israeli leaders as an idle threat from Palestinian militants left battered and reeling by the relentless Israeli military attacks. Sunday’s Palestinian declaration helped shore up Israel’s fragile cease-fire declaration. It also provided the 1.5 million residents of Gaza with more hope that 22 days of devastating fighting was all there’d be. While Israeli officials dismissed the Hamas timetable demand, Israeli tanks and soldiers began pulling out of Gaza after nightfall on Sunday in what was seen as a clear sign that Israel is looking to bring its attacks to a halt. Israeli soldiers cheered and waved Israeli flags as they […]
DETROIT — This is what the North American International Auto Show, which opens to the public this weekend, ought to be — less glitz, less glam, substantially more substance. It was forced into that functional austerity this year by circumstances mostly beyond its control — a collapsed economy, a frozen credit market and drastically reduced sales for all major car companies doing business in the United States. Put the emphasis on major. Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), a Chrysler-owned company, actually had its ‘best year ever’ in 2008, said company President and Chief Operating Officer Richard J. Kasper. GEM makes battery-powered neighborhood cars, those bubble-shaped conveyances often dismissed by serious car people as ‘golf carts.’ GEM, based in Fargo, N.D., and in business 11 years, has 40,000 vehicles in operation in the United States — a tiny fraction of the slowest selling, mass-produced automobiles with traditional internal combustion engines. So, Kasper’s ‘best year ever’ might be taken with a bit of suspicion. Still, he has a point, as amply demonstrated by a walk around the cavernous Cobo Hall, the annual site of the Detroit show. Electric cars, both ready-for-market and concept models, are in. […]
The embattled New York Times Co., trying to wriggle out from under a pile of debt as advertising revenue dries up, is talking to Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim about making a sizeable cash investment in the company. Slim, said to be the world’s second-richest person with $60 billion, bought a 6.4 percent common share stake in the Times Co. in September for about $118 million, but is interested in gaining a larger share of the company, according to a report last night in The Wall Street Journal. The 68-year-old telecommunications tycoon is said to be discussing a large purchase of preferred shares. The talks are ongoing and may fall apart, as they probably would need the consent of the Sulzberger family, including publisher Arthur Sulzberger, who control the media powerhouse through its ownership of preferred shares. The preferred shares under discussion would carry no voting rights, but pay a dividend, according to the report. His current stake puts Slim among the largest non-Sulzberger owners of the Times. The Times is under the gun to raise cash as a $400 million credit line expires in May. The recession has squeezed the paper, which reported a 21 percent […]
A volley of rockets has been fired into southern Israel from Gaza, hours after a unilateral Israeli ceasefire began. At least four out of five rockets landed near the town of Sderot, with no reports of injuries. Israel launched an air strike on Gaza in response. The exchange puts an immediate strain on the ceasefire, which followed three weeks of fighting. Israel says its troops will not pull out for now, but Hamas said it would not accept an Israeli presence in Gaza. Nearly 1,200 Palestinians and 13 Israelis have been killed since Israel launched its offensive against Hamas on 27 December. Shortly before the rockets fell, Israeli troops briefly traded fire with Hamas militants in the north of the Gaza Strip after coming under attack, Israeli military officials said. International leaders are due in Egypt on Sunday for a summit aimed at shoring up the ceasefire. Heads of state from across Europe will join Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and UN chief Ban Ki-moon at Sharm El-Shiekh to give their backing to a permanent peace. Olmert warning The rockets were fired at about 0900 (0700 GMT), […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
