Video: Super-sized media? More overweight actors in TV ads

>>> we hear about it every day, america is getting bigger and we're seeing it reflected in all kinds of ways, overweight and obese people featured in more tv ads. it's a trend that made the front page of " usa today " as more big names are used to warn this growing nation. here is michelle franzen .

>> reporter: it is a new trend in advertising, super sized commercials showing overweight people in ads selling everything from running shoes to what looks like an ad for fast food .

>> my dad eats five buckets of fried chicken .

>> reporter: a closer look at this commercial --

>> my dad can eat a quadruple l burger --

>> reporter: reveals a bigger message from blue cross / blue shield .

>> one day i'll be able to eat twice that.

>> reporter: advertising experts say it is a reflect shup of the times when two-thirds of americans are considered overweight or obese.

>> i think we're reaching a point where what bloomberg is doing in new york, michelle obama 's let's move campaign, advertisers recognizing they have to use their power to help change behavior and encourage positive habits.

>> reporter: nutrition experts say just like in real life a push for change can backfire if companies cross the line.

>> what doesn't work when it comes to behavior change is shame and blame. everyone walking around with enough guilt and when it comes to body image and when it comes to weight.

>> reporter: a point that made headlines this past week when a tv anchor fought back against a viewer's comments criticizing her weight.

>> the truth is, i am overweight.

>> reporter: people have taken to the internet to express their support or distaste of recent ads including nike's commercial saying it exploited nathan's weight, but he said the backlash won't stop him.

>> that just motivates me more.

>> reporter: larger than life issues front and center in a whole new way. for "today," michelle franzen , nbc news, new york.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/49318799/

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First Person: Will the Auto Bailouts Sway This Ohio Voter?

Ohio, a historically Republican-leaning state that's trending toward President Obama, is heavily reliant on the automotive industry. About 12 percent of the state's labor force is linked to car production. As Election Day nears, Yahoo News asked Ohioans who depend on the industry to share their thoughts on the bailouts and the election. Here's one perspective.

FIRST PERSON | I grew up in Cleveland. The city's fortunes -- and those of many of its residents -- were and are still tied directly to the automotive industry. After Detroit, the greater Cleveland area had been one of the largest auto-manufacturing centers in the world. It is still recognized that what drives the economic engine of the region.

Growing Up

I am now in my early 50s. I grew up in the shadow of the foundry and casting plant that made engines that went into Ford cars and trucks. We could hear and smell the plant even though we lived close to a mile away. We had pride that those big block V-8 behemoth engines that powered the muscle cars were made in our neighborhood by our older brothers, fathers and uncles.

My first job was up the street from the plant. I had to plan getting to work accordingly otherwise I would get caught in the traffic jam of shift change. Three shifts a day, 15,000 workers total. Everyone around me had a relative or neighbor who worked at Ford.

Changes in Fortunes

When I graduated from high school, I got a job as a tool and die apprentice. This was in 1978. My pay was now tied to the auto industry. We made small parts that went into cars -- GMs, Fords and Dodge products. An apprentice I worked with bought a Toyota. The journeymen were hopping mad about this. They had a strong sense of "buy USA, buy union."

Not long after this, we began to suffer cycles of layoffs. This was because of two factors: We were losing customer base due to downturns in the auto industry and, also, the tool and die industry discovered that if they sent blueprints to Korea via a new medium called email, they can have the dies built overseas and shipped here at a substantial savings in cost. Later on in life, after becoming a firefighter for the city of Cleveland, I could see firsthand throughout the neighborhoods. Giants like TRW, Warner & Swasey and Eaton Corporation that built fortunes in the infancy and boom days of the auto industry were shuttering their plants and devastating neighborhoods.

Along with the big plants, small shops that provided tools and products to these bigger plants shut down to along with stores, bars and restaurants whose life blood was the workers.

Romney or Obama

That question for me is still undecided. While it seems as though the auto bailouts have helped the Cleveland region, I also understand Romney's position. I had a ringside seat to the fading fortunes of a giant of an industry.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-person-auto-bailouts-sway-ohio-voter-163500516.html

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UK health secretary backs 12-week abortion limit

LONDON (AP) ? Britain's new health secretary has said he favors reducing the limit for women to have abortions from 24 weeks of pregnancy to 12, reigniting a divisive political debate and sparking criticism from women's rights activists Saturday.

Jeremy Hunt, who took up the job just a few weeks ago, said that after studying unspecified evidence he believed that 12 weeks was "the right point." In an interview with the Times newspaper published Saturday, he said: "It is just my view about that incredibly difficult question about the moment that we should deem life to start."

The remarks, coming just before the annual Conservative Party conference, immediately stirred up debate and drew criticism from pro-abortion rights campaigners and some health professionals. Abortion is an increasingly sensitive political issue in Britain, though not as much so as in the U.S., where it has flared up in the presidential campaign despite the candidates' reluctance to dwell on the topic.

The prime minister's office stressed that Hunt was expressing purely personal views, and that the government has no plans to change laws on abortion. But campaigners for abortion rights reacted strongly, attacking the comments as "insulting to women."

"I think women and families across the country will find it staggering that the priority for this government is playing politics with people's lives like this," opposition Labour Party health spokeswoman Diane Abbott said. "Late abortion only affects a small number of women, who are often in extremely challenging circumstances."

Abortion is legal in England, Wales and Scotland up until 24 weeks of gestation, although 91 percent of terminations were carried out before 13 weeks last year. Only 2 percent were carried out after 20 weeks, according to the National Health Service. Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland except when the mother's life is in danger or there is a serious threat to her health.

Supporters for reducing the current legal limit argue that abortions should not be allowed past 20 weeks because by then a baby is often "viable," or has potential for life.

Opponents argue that the current limit should be kept because severe health problems such as Down's syndrome are often not revealed in testing until later in the pregnancy. Some women may also not become aware they are pregnant at 12 weeks, or not have access to abortion services until later in their term. Women should be allowed to have a choice for later-term abortion in such cases, they say.

Hunt's comments followed recent comments by Culture Secretary Maria Miller, also the minister for women, who said she would like to see the law tightened so that the limit comes down to 20 weeks.

Prime Minister David Cameron said that he did not agree with Hunt's position, and instead personally favored a more "modest" reduction in the legal limit. Home Secretary Theresa May expressed similar views Saturday, telling the BBC in an interview that "there is scope for some reduction."

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said that lowering the time limit would not reduce the abortion rate, and may only drive abortion procedures underground.

"Reducing the time limit to 12 weeks would severely limit women's choice at an extremely difficult time in their life," spokeswoman Dr. Kate Guthrie said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2012-10-06-Britain-Abortion/id-c8e9ebdfba3547408fdcd5c3cee8fe57

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Russia dismisses talk of new spy scandal with U.S.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-dismisses-talk-spy-scandal-u-145952593.html

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Graphene nanopores can be controlled: Less costly ways of sequencing DNA

ScienceDaily (Oct. 3, 2012) ? Engineers at The University of Texas at Dallas have used advanced techniques to make the material graphene small enough to read DNA.

Shrinking the size of a graphene pore to less than one nanometer -- small enough to thread a DNA strand -- opens the possibility of using graphene as a low-cost tool to sequence DNA.

"Sequencing DNA at a very cheap cost would enable scientists and doctors to better predict and diagnose disease, and also tailor a drug to an individual's genetic code," said Dr. Moon Kim, professor of materials science and engineering. He was senior author of an article depicted on the cover of the September print edition of Carbon.

The first reading, or sequencing, of human DNA by the international scientific research group known as the Human Genome Project cost about $2.7 billion. Engineers have been researching alternative nanomaterials materials that can thread DNA strands to reduce the cost to less than $1,000 per person.

Dr. Moon Kim, professor of materials science and engineering, was the senior author of the article.

It was demonstrated in 2004 that graphite could be changed into a sheet of bonded carbon atoms called graphene, which is believed to be the strongest material ever measured. Because graphene is thin and strong, researchers have searched for ways to control its pore size. They have not had much success. A nanoscale sensor made of graphene could be integrated with existing silicon-based electronics that are very advanced and yet cheap, to reduce costs.

In this study, Kim and his team manipulated the size of the nanopore by using an electron beam from an advanced electron microscope and in-situ heating up to 1200 degree Celsius temperature.

"This is the first time that the size of the graphene nanopore has been controlled, especially shrinking it," said Kim. "We used high temperature heating and electron beam simultaneously, one technique without the other doesn't work."

Now that researchers know the pore size can be controlled, the next step in their research will be to build a prototype device.

"If we could sequence DNA cheaply, the possibilities for disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment would be limitless," Kim said. "Controlling graphene puts us one step closer to making this happen."

Other UT Dallas researchers from the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science involved in this project are Dr. Ning Lu, research scientist in materials science and engineering; Dr. Jinguo Wang, associate EM Facility Director; and Dr. Herman Carlo Floresca, postdoctoral research fellow in materials science and engineering.

The study was funded by the Southwest Academy of Nanoelectronics, Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the World Class University Program.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Texas at Dallas.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Ning Lu, Jinguo Wang, Herman C. Floresca, Moon J. Kim. In situ studies on the shrinkage and expansion of graphene nanopores under electron beam irradiation at temperatures in the range of 400?1200?C. Carbon, 2012; 50 (8): 2961 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2012.02.078

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/Zy-Ggh8iKLA/121003141406.htm

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Fall Leaves: Delayed By Climate Change?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/10/fall-leaves-delayed-by-climate-change/

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APNewsBreak: Coke, Samsung pull Vietnam site ads

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) ? Coca-Cola and Samsung have pulled their advertising from a popular Vietnamese website notorious for providing unlicensed downloads of Western and local songs, in a rare victory against online piracy in a country where it has grown unchecked.

The companies abandoned Zing.vn after The Associated Press alerted them to local and international concerns about the website, which is the sixth-most visited in the nation of 87 million people.

Zing's audience of young, tech-savvy web users has made it attractive to companies wanting to promote their products in a fast-growing Asian market where some 30 million people are online. It was unclear if the companies were ignorant of the content of the site or chose to ignore it.

Besides Coca-Cola Co. and South Korea's Samsung, other multinationals that have advertised on Zing include Canon, Yamaha, Intel and Colgate Palmolive. Zing said in a statement it couldn't comment.

The presence of international advertising added to the legitimacy of Zing, causing particular anger among Vietnamese artists who felt the site was profiting from their work without compensating them. After being contacted by The AP, Samsung and Coca-Cola said in separate statements they had withdrawn their ads.

"We highly respect and value intellectual property rights, and stand against acts of infringement, such as the unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted material," Samsung, which was advertising its Galaxy tablet on Zing, said in a statement. "Accordingly, our advertisements on Zing.vn have been withdrawn."

Coca-Cola said it had stopped advertising on the site and would "investigate their practices before making further decisions."

The drinks company had an especially close association with site, which also features games, instant messaging and a social media network. In 2011, it collaborated with Zing on a music awards ceremony, according to Zing's website. A special site created for the campaign attracted close to 6 million people who visited 10 million times, according to the website.

The music industry in the United States has complained about well-known companies whose ads appear on illegal downloading sites and is trying to get them to stop such advertising. Those commercials are mostly placed by ad networks contracted by agencies working for the companies. In May, the Association of National Advertisers issued guidelines to its members urging them to try and prevent such placements.

The decision by Coca-Cola and Samsung could add impetus to efforts by Vietnamese web companies to clean up their act.

Vietnamese company MV Corp, which represents around half of the local music industry, says some of the biggest sites, including Zing, plan to begin charging for music on Nov. 1. But it is unclear whether the deal means they will take down their infringing material, or whether Western recording companies will take part.

Stopping rampant illegal downloading of songs is a priority for the music industry worldwide, but progress has been patchy as consumers get used to free music. As broadband internet connections have grown in Asia, the problem has gotten worse. Vietnam has passed laws against piracy, but has failed to enforce them, enabling sites like Zing to grow into respectable businesses.

Recording artists in Vietnam no longer can make money selling music. They have had to live with the reality of illegal downloading as they seek promotional opportunities or sponsorship to earn a living. Zing's giant reach was important to them even as it attracted complaints. One entertainment music executive complained bitterly about the site, but said that he couldn't publicly speak out against it because it would not highlight his company's songs.

Still, one of Vietnam's most popular singers, Le Quyen, has begun legal proceedings against Zing and eight other websites to try and get compensation, according to her lawyer Le Quang Vy.

"By complaining against the offending websites, she wants to get justice for herself and remind them that they owe the performers," he said. "If no halt is put to the violation of copyrights ... the country's musical life will perish."

Zing is owned by VNG Corporation, a Vietnamese Internet company that is the leader in the lucrative online gaming market. The company has attracted investment from IDG Ventures of San Francisco and Goldman Sachs.

Like others around the world, Zing collects links to infringing content and gives users the ability to engage in piracy through "deep linking". According to Alexa, the web tracking company, about 20 percent of Zing's visitors come from outside Vietnam. It said 60 percent of the traffic on the site goes to the download section.

The International Intellectual Property Alliance, which this year accused Zing.vn of engaging in "notorious" piracy, welcomed the move by Coca-Cola and Samsung.

"It is essential that good corporate citizens refrain from spending advertising dollars on services that engage in or encourage infringement," said alliance representative Michael Schlesinger. "Breaking the chain of support for such notorious piracy services will erode the incentives for illegal services to operate."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-03-Vietnam-Internet%20Piracy/id-f7b3b265f71c4f6d958377c1f56a6c2e

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