Spider Silk Cape Goes On Display

Spider silk isn't sticky by itself. It's essentially some very long protein filaments, same as worm-butt silk.

What makes spider orbs sticky is that the spider then deposits small droplets of glue along the threads.

But even spiders produce non-glued silk all the time. E.g., when a spider lowers itself by dangling on a silk filament, it doesn't bother putting glue on it.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/_DCRbz1TcWE/spider-silk-cape-goes-on-display

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Religious Groups Get Delay in Birth Control Insurance Requirement ...

The Obama administration said it would give religious organizations one additional year to comply with a new policy requiring employers to provide free contraception services in insurance plans.

Roman Catholic bishops and other church leaders had protested the new rules, which were announced in August by Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, following a recommendation of the National Sciences? Institute of Medicine.

It was designed to drive down the rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion by making birth control available under the preventive health care services that all insurers must cover without a deductible or co-payment.

Churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship were already exempt, but some religious leaders wanted the exemption broadly expanded. Instead, the administration said after considering the request that nonprofit institutions like hospitals and universities affiliated with churches could take a year longer to comply.

That means they will not have to start providing the full insurance coverage to their employees until after the election. Even so, the question is likely to linger as a campaign issue.

The delay could also put off any court test of the rule. Last week, the Supreme Court, in an unrelated case, substantially broadened an exemption under the First Amendment that protects religious institutions from employment-discrimination suits brought by employees with ministerial duties.

The administration, which had hinted that it might be open to an expansion of the insurance waiver for churches, characterized its one-year compromise as a balanced solution.

?This additional year will allow these organizations more time and flexibility to adapt to this new rule,? Ms. Sebelius said. ?We intend to require employers that do not offer coverage of contraceptive services to provide notice to employees, which will also state that contraceptive services are available at sites such as community health centers, public clinics, and hospitals with income-based support.?

?I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services,? she said.

Catholic bishops had called the rule ?an unprecedented attack on religious liberty.?

But Jon O?Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, welcomed the decision as ? a victory for common sense and scientific advice in the interests of the common good.?

Congressional Democrats had lobbied the White House against expanding the religious exemption also cheered the move.

?This is a critical step forward for women?s health that will prevent abortions and ensure that millions of American families have access to affordable birth control,? said Senator Barbara Boxer of California in a statement.

Source: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/religious-groups-receive-additional-year-to-comply-with-health-law/

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APNewsBreak: Feds shut down file-sharing website

[unable to retrieve full-text content]McLEAN, Virginia (AP) ? One of the world's largest file-sharing sites was shut down Thursday, and its founder and several company executives were charged with violating piracy laws, federal prosecutors said.

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-19-Internet%20Piracy-Indictment/id-5d708f3c9e2b4b8688e7ba5d5c529b86

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Boas time big squeeze to prey's heartbeat

During its long, slow squeeze, a boa constrictor will feel every last heartbeat of the animal it has captured. This slithering predator uses its prey's heartbeat to decide when it's safe to stop constricting, a new study has demonstrated.

The snakes are less worried about over-squeezing their prey ? which include lizards, birds and mammals ? into a mushy meal, and more worried about the energy such a death embrace takes, the researchers say.

"Constriction is an energetically costly and potentially dangerous activity," researchers from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., write in the Jan. 18 issue of Biology Letters. "Thus it would be greatly advantageous for constricting snakes to accurately and precisely determine when prey are incapacitated and no longer capable of retaliation or escape."

Varying the time and effort spent squeezing seems to be an innate skill in these animals, but the study indicates they can even improve upon their natural abilities.

Lab-created prey
A boa in the wild tends to constrict a rat for about 20 minutes before feeding on it. To test boas, the researchers say, they inserted fake beating hearts into dead but still-warm rats. When the researchers let the boas loose on the experimental prey, they let the heartbeat continue the whole time, shut it off after 10 minutes, or left it off the entire time.

When given prey with a continuing heartbeat, the snake kept constant pressure for a few minutes beyond the usual 20 minutes, periodically adjusting the coils of its body to ensure adequate squeezing, before it gave up. When given prey with no heartbeat, the snakes squeezed about half as hard, made no visible coil adjustments, and stopped squeezing after about 10 minutes.

When the heart stopped beating about 10 minutes into the constriction, the boas kept squeezing for several minutes but then backed off. The boas usually clenched this prey for about 17 minutes altogether, applying pressure that measured midway between that used for the heartbeat and no-heartbeat groups.

"Our results are the first to demonstrate that snakes use the heartbeat in their prey as a cue to modulate constriction effort and to decide when to release their prey," the researchers write.

Perfecting an innate skill
Even snakes that had never eaten live prey before reacted the same way in the heartbeat experiments, which means changing their constriction pressure and duration is probably a skill they are born with. The researchers add that wild-caught snakes squeezed harder for longer than their captive-born relatives did.

"The ability to respond to a heartbeat is innate, whereas the magnitude of the response is guided by experience," the authors write. "We suggest that the capacity to improve performance though learning enables snakes to become efficient predators of variable and unpredictable prey animals."

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The researchers say the snake may have evolved this ability to sense its prey's heartbeat as a way of dealing with lizards, as opposed to warm-blooded prey. With a metabolism that's already slow, lizards can survive hours of being squished. Their hearts will beat even after they have stopped moving.

The researchers alternatively think that the snake's extra-sensitive skin could have developed separately, when they lost their legs, to help them sense their environment, and snakes simply use this sensitivity to help dispatch prey.

You can follow LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter @microbelover. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46041548/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Supreme Court rules public domain isn't permanent, says Congress can re-copyright some international works (update)

Intellectual PropertyIf you've been enjoying the fireworks over PIPA and SOPA these past weeks, get ready for more intellectual property ugliness. The US Supreme Court handed down a decision in Golan v. Holder Wednesday granting Congress the power to restore copyright claims on works that had entered the public domain. The six to two decision (with only the conservative Samuel Alito and liberal Stephen Breyer dissenting) was issued primarily with an eye towards bringing the country in line with an international treaty known as the Berne Convention. The plaintiffs in the case included orchestra conductors, educators, performers and archivists who rely on public domain works such as Fritz Lang's Metropolis and compositions from Igor Stravinsky. Many orchestras, including that of lead plaintiff Lawrence Golan, will now be forced to stop performing works that are a regular part of their repertoire due to licensing fees. Hit up the more coverage link for the complete (PDF) decision.

Update: To be clear, this decision upheld a statute granting copyright protection to a bundle of international works that were placed in the public domain (and therefore denied copyright protection) under previous US laws.

Supreme Court rules public domain isn't permanent, says Congress can re-copyright some international works (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/20/supreme-court-rules-public-domain-isnt-permanent-says-congress/

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APNewsBreak: $7.5M to repair Washington Monument

FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2011, file photo, Dave Megerle, a member of Wiss, Janney, Elstner, Associates (WJE) "Difficult Access Team," attaches ropes to the top of the Washington Monument, on the National Mall, in Washington, from which four people will rappel down the sides to survey the extent of damage sustained to the monument from the Aug. 23 earthquake. Congress allocated $7.5 million late in 2011 to repair the damage to the monument caused by the Aug. 23, 2011, 5.8-magnitude earthquake. Philanthropist David Rubenstein tells The Associated Press he felt inspired to help after learning about cracks and chipped stonework high up the 555-foot obelisk and on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2012, will announce he is donating the final $7.5 million needed to repairs cracks atop the monument. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2011, file photo, Dave Megerle, a member of Wiss, Janney, Elstner, Associates (WJE) "Difficult Access Team," attaches ropes to the top of the Washington Monument, on the National Mall, in Washington, from which four people will rappel down the sides to survey the extent of damage sustained to the monument from the Aug. 23 earthquake. Congress allocated $7.5 million late in 2011 to repair the damage to the monument caused by the Aug. 23, 2011, 5.8-magnitude earthquake. Philanthropist David Rubenstein tells The Associated Press he felt inspired to help after learning about cracks and chipped stonework high up the 555-foot obelisk and on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2012, will announce he is donating the final $7.5 million needed to repairs cracks atop the monument. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - This undated file photo released by The Carlyle Group shows David M. Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group equity firm. Congress allocated $7.5 million late in 2011 to repair the damage to the Washington Monument caused by the Aug. 23, 2011, 5.8-magnitude earthquake. Rubenstein tells The Associated Press he felt inspired to help after learning about cracks and chipped stonework high up the 555-foot obelisk and on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2012, will announce he is donating the final $7.5 million needed to repairs cracks atop the monument. (AP Photo/The Carlyle Group, File ) NO SALES

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A billionaire history buff has stepped forward to donate the $7.5 million matching gift that's needed to start repairing cracks near the top of the Washington Monument from last summer's East Coast earthquake.

Businessman David Rubenstein told The Associated Press he was inspired to help fund the repairs to the 555-foot obelisk when it became clear how severely damaged it was by a 5.8-magnitude quake on Aug. 23. The monument received about 1 million visitors a year before the famous landmark was closed to the public after the quake.

The Park Service hopes to have a contractor begin work by the end of August. The repair work is expected to take a year to complete, likely keeping the monument closed for two years.

Congress allocated $7.5 million in December on the condition that private donations would match that amount. The National Park Service and nonprofit Trust for the National Mall are expected to announce Rubenstein's gift Thursday morning. It will be the largest gift to the nonprofit group, which aims to raise $350 million to restore the mall's grounds and facilities.

The combined $15 million in public and private funds is expected to cover the cost of repairing damage directly caused by the quake, said National Park Service spokeswoman Carol Johnson. Repairing water damage will cost more, as would a seismic study or reinforcements to strengthen the obelisk against future earthquakes, she said.

Rubenstein, a co-founder of The Carlyle Group, began building the private equity firm's business in Washington and said he wanted to restore a symbol of the nation and hasten repairs to reopen the landmark.

"This Washington Monument is probably one of the most recognizable buildings in the United States next to the Capitol and the Empire State Building," he said. "It could use a little repair work, and I wanted people to get to see it as soon as possible."

Experts have noted the monument needs more than just a little repair work, though it has been deemed structurally sound.

The August quake was centered some 40 miles west of Richmond, Va., and felt from Canada to Georgia. It damaged the Washington National Cathedral, where pieces of mortar rained down from its vaulted ceiling. At the Washington Monument, panicked visitors fled down flights of stairs on the day of the big shake, but there were no known deaths or serious injuries in the region.

The earthquake caused numerous cracks to form in the obelisk, which was the tallest man-made structure in the world when it was completed in 1884.

Surveillance video taken the day of the quake and later released by the park service showed the spire shaking violently. Daylight could be seen through some of the cracks, the largest of which was reported to be at least 4 feet long and about an inch wide.

A report in December recommended extensive repairs and reinforcements to preserve the spire. It said some marble panels were cracked all the way through near the top portion of the monument. Cracks near its peak also have left the monument vulnerable to water damage from rain, engineers noted.

Last fall, daredevil engineers on a "difficult access team" rappelled from the top to conduct a visual inspection of the exterior of the obelisk.

Officials said it's unclear whether the work will require scaffolding to be built around the monument, similar to what was erected during a restoration project from 1999 to 2001.

Caroline Cunningham, president of the Trust for the National Mall, called Rubenstein "a true patriot" and said his gift "demonstrates how much people care about this space." She said it should serve as an example for other philanthropists.

There has long been talk of sprucing up the mall at the heart of the nation's capital.

A design competition is under way to develop ways to improve the mall, including the Washington Monument grounds. Finalists will be chosen in May, and the group will seek funding for each project. The nonprofit group has targeted parts of the mall that are run down from over use and neglect as a focus for its restoration efforts.

Rubenstein has made large gifts in recent years to Washington's cultural institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives, the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center.

The monument, which he visited recently, was built with private $1 donations eventually totaling over $1 million, Rubenstein said. Construction began in 1848, but funds ran out during the Civil War when the monument was left as an embarrassing stump for years. It was finally completed in 1884 and was the world's tallest man-made structure until it was eclipsed by the Eiffel Tower. It remains the tallest structure in Washington.

Rubenstein owns a copy of the Magna Carta, among other historical documents, and reveres George Washington.

"I like to remind people about American history," Rubenstein said. "George Washington is an incredible figure. When he was the head of the Revolutionary War Army, he could have stayed on as really the head of the government when we won the Revolutionary War, but he put down his arms."

___

Trust for the National Mall: http://www.nationalmall.org

___

Follow Brett Zongker at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-18-Washington%20Monument/id-0ae04a48d03849b89c0e46347a8bed52

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The GOP?s Fringe Binge and Field of Schemes

(Weekly Column)

There is something seriously wrong with a political party where it is more controversial and exotic to speak French than in tongues. Given this acid trip facsimile of reality, it was inevitable that the Republican presidential primaries have come down to the Slickest vs. The Sickest.

On the slick side is Newt Gingrich, the career politician who got rich off lobbying and switched wives and religions three times, yet is running as a ?family values? Washington outsider.

Mitt Romney also personifies slick with his perfectly coifed hairdo and a propensity to take more positions than a triple-jointed hooker. He keeps talking about personal responsibility and demanding that Americans take a spoonful of castor oil, even as the silver spoon dangles from his mouth. Today, Romney admitted that he pays an effective tax-rate of only 15%, much lower than middle class Americans, and significantly less than President Barack Obama who paid just over 26% on his 2012 tax returns.

Romney, the pampered patrician, keeps pretending he?s slumming but we all know he?ll be ?summering? if he doesn?t get the nomination. During one debate in Iowa, he foolishly challenged Gov. Rick Perry to a $10,000 bet as if it were pocket change. Today he solidified his ?out of touch? image by saying,

?I got a little bit of income from my book, but I gave that all away? I get speakers? fees from time to time, but not very much.? The New York Times reports, however, that Romney earned $374,327.62 in speakers? fees from February of 2010 to February of 2011, at an average of $41,592 per speech.

Romney?s gaffe is reminiscent of George H.W. Bush who looked disconnected from real Americans in 1992 when he came across a grocery store scanner for the first time. The New York Times wrote about the incident in a story headlined, ?Bush Encounters the Supermarket, Amazed?:

As President Bush travels the country in search of re-election, he seems unable to escape a central problem: This career politician, who has lived the cloistered life of a top Washington bureaucrat for decades, is having trouble presenting himself to the electorate as a man in touch with middle-class life.

Today, for instance, he emerged from 11 years in Washington?s choicest executive mansions to confront the modern supermarket?he grabbed a quart of milk, a light bulb and a bag of candy and ran them over an electronic scanner. The look of wonder flickered across his face again as he saw the item and price registered on the cash register screen.

Obviously, Bush lost his race and I suspect that President Barack Obama will be able to defeat a man who believes that $374,327 is little more than Monopoly Money.

When it comes to ?The Sickest,? obviously we are talking about Rick Santorum, since Michele Bachmann has dropped out of the race. If he actually mattered, we could also be talking about Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who invokes Jesus? name so often that he makes Tim Tebow look like Dr. Richard Dawkins.

In his infinite wisdom, Perry wants a part-time Congress so House and Senate members can go back to their home states and get ?real jobs.? Which will work out fine until we have to hold off on declaring war against an enemy state because the night manager at Waffle House won?t let Congressman X leave the late shift to return to Capitol Hill. Indeed, we already had a part-time president in the endlessly vacationing George W. Bush and look how well that turned out.

Back to the Opus Dei loving Santorum ? he?s just plain nuts.? Consider the infamous fetus in a jar situation:

In his Senate office, on a shelf next to an autographed baseball, Sen. Rick Santorum keeps a framed photo of his son Gabriel Michael, the fourth of his seven children. Named for two archangels, Gabriel Michael was born prematurely, at 20 weeks, on Oct. 11, 1996, and lived two hours outside the womb. Upon their son?s death, Rick and Karen Santorum opted not to bring his body to a funeral home. Instead, they bundled him in a blanket and drove him to Karen?s parents? home in Pittsburgh. There, they spent several hours kissing and cuddling Gabriel with his three siblings, ages 6, 4 and 1 1/2. They took photos, sang lullabies in his ear and held a private Mass.

This story is remarkable considering Santorum?s wife had previously dated a well-known abortion doctor forty years her senior! With her incredible flip-flopping on abortion, maybe she should have married Mitt Romney?

Most of the media is afraid to admit the obvious: The GOP contenders are loopy clowns selling a field of schemes. The Religious Right ensures that one can only get the nomination through insanity (Santorum) or by faking insanity (Romney). Until this radical special interest group is permanently expelled from the Republican Party, the fringe binge will continue and Ron Paul will often look like the sanest one on-stage.

Tags: Gov. Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Truth Wins Out, Wayne Besen

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Source: http://www.truthwinsout.org/pressreleases/2012/01/21490/

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Obama tells jobs council of 'substantial progress'

(AP) ? President Barack Obama says his administration has made "substantial progress" in embracing outside ideas on how to solidify the economic recovery.

In comments to his jobs council, Obama sought to show that the administration was taking seriously the recommendations of the broad panel of business leaders. He spoke of success in streamlining the permitting processes and cutting regulations. And he hailed his own attempt to get more power from Congress to shrink the cost of government.

The strength of the U.S. economy will play a huge role in determining whether Obama wins a second term.

Obama assured members of his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness that their proposals are not gathering dust.

Separately, on Thursday in Florida, he will announce a new strategy to boost tourism and travel.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-17-Obama-Jobs/id-7b54af15783c4a269263456dbb642621

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