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Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50986832/
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Saturday, March 2, 2013
Friday, March 1, 2013
Female kicker set for NFL regional combine tryout
Lauren Silberman has scant chance at making the NFL.
Silberman never kicked anything more than a soccer ball in an organized game and she just started practicing long-range field goals.
Even so, the first female kicker scheduled to try out at an NFL regional scouting combine would like to see where her new hobby will take her. In an era where Danica Patrick can contend against men in motor sports, Silberman is about to take a big kick forward for female athletes, even if the odds are clearly stacked against her. The 28-year-old Silberman will kick Sunday at the New York Jets' training facility in Florham Park, N.J.
"I realize that I may not make an NFL team this year," Silberman told NFL.com. "But for me, I'm expecting to have fun, to meet really interesting people and hopefully perfect my technique from the other tremendous kickers that will be in attendance."
Her goal for the weekend is a true long shot: perfect 60-yard field goals.
Odds are, though, that scouts will want to see her connect on extra points and chip-shot field goals with some consistency before moving on to the heavy kicking.
Silberman will compete against more accomplished or polished college kickers, all hoping to prove they have the leg strength and accuracy worthy of earning an invite to an NFL training camp. St. Louis Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein participated in a regional combine last year before he was drafted and morphed into "Legatron."
Cincinnati Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons said teams look for several things specifically when judging kickers in these situations. The most important is leg strength, followed by accuracy on field goals over 40 yards, and how they did on clutch kicks in college.
"When rating field goals, the deepest we test at the combine is a 50-yard field goal. There's not many attempts over 55 yards. We don't practice kicks much deeper than that ? rarely do we do them," Simmons said. "You can tell after watching a 50-yard field goal how far the ball goes over the crossbar if they can hit from 55. They've got to be able to hit from 55. On kickoffs, they've got to be able to get the ball out of the back of the end zone."
Silberman won't be kicking against the best of the sure-footed prospects, but there will be talent on hand regardless. The regional combines debuted in 2011, and feature players who weren't among the 333 invited to the main combine in Indianapolis. So no first-round picks are likely to show; only potential, hidden, undrafted gems or late-round risks. The league is holding these sessions in 10 cities this offseason, with the most impressive players advancing to a super-regional in April in Dallas. It's sort of the sports version of a TV reality show, where each hit and tackle can wow a scout and move a player on to the next round. Only instead of a recording contract, it's an NFL one.
"It's all up to those guys. If you're talented enough, you're going to get recognized. And if you put up good numbers, the numbers don't lie," said Doug Whaley, assistant general manager/director of player personnel for the Buffalo Bills. "That's one of the things about the combine part of this business. It's the least subjective part of the business. And it's really objective, because you're looking at numbers."
Silberman hasn't treated the tryout like a publicity stunt. But Silberman, whose NFL.com bio listed her as a former club soccer player at Wisconsin, seems to understand what she's up against. More likely, she wanted to use the weekend as an opportunity to promote greater diversity in football.
"It would be a great opportunity to attract more women to the sport," she said. "Hopefully, I'll have a good line that won't let anyone through to tackle me."
Silberman also can use this opportunity as a steppingstone to other ventures. Public speaking, perhaps, or even some sports marketing.
"The real upside is if she reaches the next level," said Steve Rosner, a partner with 16W Marketing in New Jersey. "Kickers, in general, aren't brands. Very rare. Even someone like Adam Vinatieri, who (has won) Super Bowls, would have to do a little more than kick to capitalize and endorse at the national level. The one thing she has that they don't have is that she's a woman. The uniqueness of her and the possible success she has will differentiate what she has at that position."
While a female has never played in the NFL, if the gender breakthrough did happen, it most likely would be at kicker.
Females have kicked or tried out for a roster spot in the college ranks for years. Just last season, former LSU women's soccer goalkeeper Mo Isom tried out as a Tigers placekicker. In 2003, Katie Hnida became the first woman to kick for an NCAA Division I-A football team, scoring in one game for the University of New Mexico.
Hnida, who later kicked for the Fort Wayne Firehawks of the Continental Indoor Football League, was surprised a player with no true kicking background would be scouted at a combine.
"I thought it would be an athlete who has come through the ranks of playing football for a long time," she said. "It is so different kicking in a live situation, too, dealing with the timing of the snap, having guys rushing at you. That's where you separate the good from the great."
Sean Landeta, a Super Bowl champion and considered one of the NFL's great punters, gave Silberman credit for competing, one way or the other.
"I think it's courageous on her part in trying this, and certainly groundbreaking if she could prove her skills are good enough to play in the NFL," he said. "What a team's policy would be as far entertaining the thought in signing a female, that's still debatable. No one knows that answer. ... I give her points for giving it a shot. She's obviously following her dream."
Forget game-on-the-line playoff pressure, Silberman will instead kick in front of low-level scouts. They, like the players themselves, are trying to move up the ranks.
"In terms of regional combines, we usually send one younger pro and college scout," Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said. "And then, (at the) super-regional, we send a bunch of higher level scouts."
Agent Rob Roche represents four kickers, including Baltimore's Justin Tucker. He said from an agent's perspective, finding the right situation for a young kicker is most important, because there's only 32 jobs available. Teams, after all, tend to stick with a kicker when they feel they can trust him, rather than bringing in someone younger with limited NFL experience. Roche said kickers who lack experience at the major-college level face daunting odds.
"To come out and start kicking and you've never kicked in college," he said, "you don't know how a player is going to react under pressure when the game's on the line and you're kicking in Denver in the snow and it's overtime."
Silberman plans to prove she's up for the task.
"I'm going to be doing a lot of practicing from now until the tryout," she said.
___
AP sports writers John Wawrow, Rob Maaddi, Joe Kay and freelancer Joseph Santoliquito contributed to this report.
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Netanyahu seeks more time to build new Israeli coalition
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Deadlocked talks with potential coalition partners have forced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek more time to build a new government and avert a possible snap election, officials said on Friday.
They said Netanyahu would meet President Shimon Peres on Saturday to ask for a two-week extension after his right-wing party, the narrow victor in Israel's January 22 ballot, exhausted the standard four weeks allotted to build a coalition.
Peres is expected to accept Netanyahu's request.
However, should Netanyahu fail to win enough allies for a parliamentary majority by March 16 and a third term as premier, Peres could hand the task to a rival party leader. If no government emerged then, Israelis must return to the polls.
U.S. President Barack Obama is due to visit Israel at the end of March to discuss the stalemate in Palestinian statehood talks and other regional challenges like Iran and Syria. But he would likely cancel if Netanyahu failed to form a coalition.
Washington has not published dates for Obama's trip, and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shapiro, has said it would take place only after the Israelis had a new government.
Netanyahu's Likud-Beitenu ticket won 31 of the Knesset's 120 seats in the January vote - an eroded lead that required he cast a wide net for partners while juggling their disparate demands.
He has faced unified resistance from the parties that placed second and fourth, Yesh Atid (There is a Future) and Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home), which insist Israel scale back the mass exemptions from military conscription and the welfare stipends it provides to ultra-Orthodox Jews.
The third-biggest Israeli party, center-left Labour, has ruled out entering a government under Netanyahu.
PERKS, NOT PALESTINE
Likud Beitenu has tried without success to drive a wedge between the centrist Yesh Atid and the ultranationalist Bayit Yehudi, which differ on other major issues such as how - and if - Israel should revive peacemaking with the Palestinians.
After inconclusive meetings with both parties Likud Beitenu negotiator David Shimron said Netanyahu's party would not accept a boycott of the ultra-Orthodox, telling reporters: "We will have to see where we go from here in forming a government."
Netanyahu's outgoing coalition includes two ultra-Orthodox parties which have generally backed him on other policies such as the settlement of occupied West Bank land in defiance of world powers, who support the Palestinian drive for a state.
Fourth placed Bayit Yehudi is even less accommodating of the Palestinians than Netanyahu, who says he wants to revive stalled peace talks. By contrast, the centrist Yesh Atid says Netanyahu has not done enough to make peace with the Palestinians.
Opinion polls suggest that if a new election were held now, Yesh Atid and Bayit Yehudi, which currently hold 19 and 12 seats respectively, would make further gains on Netanyahu.
Analysts attribute that to middle-class Israelis' support for the newcomer parties' stand against ultra-Orthodox perks.
Bayit Yehudi says this has eclipsed concern in the Jewish state for the Palestinians, who are themselves divided between U.S.-backed moderates and hardline Hamas Islamists.
"Our understandings with Yesh Atid are already proving to have brought positive results for both parties," Bayit Yehudi negotiator Eyal Gabbai told Israel's Army Radio.
Netanyahu has so far reached a deal with just one other party, the centrist Hatnuah led by former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, which brings six seats to his coalition. Livni has made achieving a peace accord with the Palestinians her core policy.
(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Jon Boyle)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/netanyahu-seeks-more-time-build-israeli-government-083013516.html
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Movie review: 'Jack the Giant Slayer' | Advocate Magazine
From left to right: Eddie Marsan, Ewan McGregor, Nicholas Hoult, and Stanley Tucci get their adventure on in ?Jack the Giant-Slayer?.
At first blush, Jack the Giant Slayer would appear to be nothing more but the latest in what?s becoming a long and lackluster line of hipster re-imaginings of classic fairy tales; in truth, it?s something those films have failed to be: entertaining.
Where Snow White and the Huntsman and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters were content to coast on Twilight-esque tortured romance and crude tongue-in-cheek genre mash-up, respectively, director Bryan Singer (Valkyrie, the forthcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past) and his cadre of screenwriters (which includes Christopher McQuarrie) wisely keep their tale simple and old-fashioned.
Singer and company waste no time in getting the story going and keeping it rolling briskly through a 115-minute running time, quickly setting the stage with a flashback that sets up the ?story (via an animated sequence that unfortunately looks like an intro from a ?90s-era CD-ROM fantasy game) of an idyllic kingdom and the race of banished giants who would love to crush it. Anyone who heard the classic fairy tale as a child knows the basics: A hapless young farmer, Jack (Nicholas Hoult, Warm Bodies) acquires some magic beans which sprout into a towering beanstalk, climbs the aforementioned vine, rescues a damsel (in this case, a headstrong princess played by Eleanor Tomlinson), slays a giant or two, and lives happily ever after.
The details are elaborated upon and tweaked a bit to give this version an epic feel, but the key elements remain unchanged: Princess Isabelle is in a pre-arranged engagement to conniving nobleman Roderick (Stanley Tucci) who, of course, covets the throne. A chain of events culminates in Isabelle propelled skyward upon a beanstalk. Jack joins the rescue party let by captain-of-the-guard Sir Elmont (Ewan McGregor)?which finds itself in the land of some very disgruntled giants.
Bill Nighy and John Kassir provide the voices for two-headed giant Fallon.
They?re a suitably nasty bunch, in every sense of the word, led by two-headed Fallon (played primarily by Bill Nighy, with the smaller and less articulate head voiced by the former Crypt Keeper himself, John Kassir), and the CGI work involved is largely pretty impressive.
There?s an impressive ? and much-appreciated ? economy of storytelling on display; Singer?s only goal is to show us a good time, and does so quite well, zipping us from point A to point B with flair and without pretension or self-indulgence. He?s worked on this scale before, and his approach plays like Peter Jackson without the excess. Truth be told, in some ways Jack trumps The Hobbit, especially during the ubiquitous final battle that centers around a brutal castle siege.
However, Singer?s fantasy world is a bit generic in look and feel, and its inhabitants are painted in broad strokes: The heroes are suitably heroic and the bad guys are an exercise in scene-chewing evil ? especially Tucci, who borrows liberally from the Princess Bride school of medieval villainy (that?s good thing). Hoult and Tomlinson are a safe, by-the-book screen couple, yet that are far more engaging and endearing than Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth proved to be. McGregor channels his inner Errol Flynn as the swashbuckling Elmont, with a snazzy haircut to boot. McShane is usually more fun when he?s being bad, but he plays rat bastards and scumbags so often that it?s refreshing to see him cast as a stern but patient father figure.
All in all, for a movie about men vs. giants in a box office arena where size usually does manner, Jack the Giant Slayer holds its own quite well.
Source: http://lakehighlands.advocatemag.com/2013/02/movie-review-jack-the-giant-slayer/
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Natural ways to manage spring allergies
Millions suffer from these bothersome indoor/outdoor allergies, but before you pick up the usual prescription or over-the-counter remedy, here are a few natural ways to manage the common symptoms of incessant coughing, runny nose, itchy eyes and sore throat.
While pollutants like asbestos and smoke fumes, as well as seasonal conditions like dust, pollen and mold spores contribute to respiratory allergies, "this type of allergy often occurs when the body has an excess accumulation of mucus, which harbors environment irritants," says Dr. Lindsey Duncan, ND, CN.
"Common drugstore medications generally mask symptoms and also have a rebound effect ? the more you use them, the more you need them," Dr. Duncan warns. "When taken for long periods, steroid drugs do not cure and often make hay fever allergies worse by depressing immune defenses and impeding allergen elimination."
Detox your diet
To alleviate allergies, Dr. Duncan advises we eat non-mucus-forming foods such as fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, foods with active cultures (like yogurt), foods high in vitamin C like citrus and berries, oily seafood and sulfur-rich cabbage, onions and garlic.
This suggested program "will help detoxify your blood, support your liver, neutralize histamine reactions and neutralize allergen response," she says.
Additionally, get plenty of essential fatty acids from omega-3 oils like flax, sea greens and spinach. Avoid inflammatory preserved and canned foods, sugary foods, caffeine and fatty mucus-forming foods (especially dairy products). Fasting can also assist in clearing allergy symptoms.
Naturopathic doctor Thalia Farshchian?s favorite seasonal allergy cure is drinking three to five cups of nettle tea throughout the day.
"This natural anti-histamine helps the liver detoxify allergens more efficiently and significantly reduces symptoms," Dr. Farshchian says. Other herbs that support avoiding allergies include dandelion (also found in tea form) and milk thistle.
Dr. Elizabeth Trattner, AP, DOM recommends boosting your immune system with fish oil at least one month before allergy season starts.
"Studies have demonstrated that fish oil is an excellent natural anti-inflammatory. Look for fish oil with high doses of EPA, one of the acids in fish oil that decreases inflammation," says Dr. Trattner.
She says to take at least 2,000 mg of EPA a day, with food, before 3 p.m. since "fish oil can cause insomnia in approximately 10 percent of the population who consumes it."
But if you don?t fancy fish oil supplements, go straight to the source and eat oily fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines and albacore tuna, which are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids,?two to three times per week.
Clean up your environment
One simple way to avoid an allergic reaction is to keep your bedroom free of pollen and dust. Dr. Trattner recommends investing in a good HEPA filter to purge the air in the bedroom of mold spores, pollen, pet dander, smoke and dust.
She also advises removing the shoes and clothing you wear during the day before you enter the bedroom; decluttering so dust is less likely to collect on the carpet and drapery; and using only natural and unscented household products, dryer sheets, shampoos and laundry soap to decrease the chemical load on your body.
Pet owners should bathe and brush their furry friends frequently because "their fur can hold on to pollen and other allergens that can exacerbate your allergies."
Make necessary lifestyle changes
It sounds like common sense, but allergy suffers may need a gentle reminder to stop smoking and to avoid secondary smoke. "[Smoke] magnifies allergy reactions," says Dr. Duncan.
Regular exercise helps boost the immune system, so incorporate a variety of physical activity into your routine including cardiovascular exercise, yoga and tai chi. During allergy season, however, Dr. Trattner recommends you work out indoors to lower your exposure to pollen in the air.
For allergy relief, licensed acupuncturist and certified herbalist Lexi Hagenson recommends weekly acupuncture treatments for a month or two.
"This 3,000-year-old Chinese practice can remarkably improve quality of life for allergy sufferers, even those who don't see results from conventional anti-allergy medications," says Hagenson, who adds that relief can come after just one session.
"Acupuncture works both locally by [alleviating]?head, neck and facial symptoms, and throughout the body by promoting healthy circulation and decreasing areas of hypersensitivity and stagnation."
Use a neti pot three to five times a week
Yes, pouring a saline solution from that little pot into your nose can work wonders. A neti pot can be found in most health food stores; simply follow the directions on the package.
"For thousands of years, ayurvedic medicine has used this simple nasal irrigation system to soothe and protect nasal passages," says Hagenson.
"It's the most effective way to remove pollen, dust,?environmental irritants and mucus from your sinuses, without causing dryness or rebound congestion often experienced from pharmaceutical decongestants."
More on allergies
Cut down on allergens in your child?s bedroom
Cope with your child's summer allergies on the cheap
What to expect from allergy shots
Source: http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/986115/natural-ways-to-manage-spring-allergies
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Anne Hathaway Apologizes For Oscars Dress
'I deeply regret any disappointment caused,' Hathaway said in a statement regarding her last-minute change of Oscar attire.
By Josh Wigler
Anne Hathaway at the 2013 Oscars
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702694/anne-hathaway-oscars-dress.jhtml
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Linking insulin to learning
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Though it's most often associated with disorders like diabetes, Harvard researchers have shown how the signaling pathway of insulin and insulin-like peptides plays another critical role in the body ? helping to regulate learning and memory.
In addition to showing that the insulin-like peptides play a critical role in regulating the activity of neurons involved in learning and memory, a team of researchers led by Yun Zhang, Associate Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, show that the interaction between the molecules can fine-tune how, or even if, learning takes place. Their work is described in a February 6 paper in Neuron.
"People think of insulin and diabetes, but many metabolic syndromes are associated with some types of cognitive defects and behavioral disorders, like depression or dementia," Zhang said. "That suggests that insulin and insulin-like peptides may play an important role in neural function, but it's been very difficult to nail down the underlying mechanism, because these peptides do not have to function through synapses that connect different neurons in the brain"
To get at that mechanism, Zhang and colleagues turned to an organism whose genome and nervous system are well described and highly accessible by genetics ? C. elegans.
Using genetic tools, researchers altered the small, transparent worms by removing their ability to create individual insulin-like compounds. These new "mutant" worms were then tested to see whether they would learn to avoid eating a particular type of bacteria that is known to infect the worms. Tests showed that while some worms did learn to steer clear of the bacteria, others didn't ? suggesting that removing a specific insulin-like compound halted the worms' ability to learn.
Researchers were surprised to find, however, that it wasn't just removing the molecules that could make the animals lose the ability to learn ? some peptide was found to inhibit learning.
"We hadn't predicted that we would find both positive and negative regulators from these peptides," Zhang said. "Why does the animal need this bidirectional regulation of learning? One possibility is that learning depends on context. There are certain things you want to learn ? for example, the worms in these experiments wanted to learn that they shouldn't eat this type of infectious bacteria. That's a positive regulation of the learning. But if they needed to eat, even if it is a bad food, to survive, they would need a way to suppress this type of learning."
Even more surprising for Zhang and her colleagues was evidence that the various insulin-like molecules could regulate each other.
"Many animals, including the humans, have multiple insulin-like molecules and it appears that these molecules can act like a network," she said. "Each of them may play a slightly different role in the nervous system, and they function together to coordinate the signaling related to learning and memory. By changing the way the molecules interact, the brain can fine tune learning in a host of different ways."
Going forward, Zhang said she hopes to characterize more of the insulin-like peptides as a way of better understanding how the various molecules interact, and how they act on the neural circuits for learning and memory.
Understanding how such pathways work could one day help in the development of treatment for a host of cognitive disorders, including dementia.
"The signaling pathways for insulin and insulin-like peptides are highly conserved in mammals, including the humans," Zhang said. "There is even some preliminary evidence that insulin treatment, in some cases, can improve cognitive function. That's one reason we believe that if we understand this mechanism, it will help us better understand how insulin pathways are working in the human brain."
###
Harvard University: http://www.harvard.edu
Thanks to Harvard University for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127040/Linking_insulin_to_learning
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