ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2012) ? Using computer simulations, a RUB researcher has shown that the oxygen molecule (O2) is stable up to pressures of 1.9 terapascal, which is about nineteen million times higher than atmosphere pressure. Above that, it polymerizes, i.e. builds larger molecules or structures.
"This is very surprising" says Dr. Jian Sun from the Department of Theoretical Chemistry. "Other simple molecules like nitrogen or hydrogen do not survive such high pressures." In cooperation with colleagues from University College London, the University of Cambridge, and the National Research Council of Canada, the researcher also reports that the behaviour of oxygen with increasing pressure is very complicated. It's electrical conductivity first increases, then decreases, and finally increases again. The results are published in Physical Review Letters.
Weaker bonds, greater stability
The oxygen atoms in the O2 molecule are held together by a double covalent bond. Nitrogen (N2), on the other hand, possesses a triple bond. "You would think that the weaker double bond is easier to break than the triple bond and that oxygen would therefore polymerize at lower pressures than nitrogen" says Sun. "We found the opposite, which is astonishing at first sight."
Coming together when pressure increases
However, in the condensed phase when pressure increases, the molecules become closer to each other. The research team suggests that, under these conditions, the electron lone pairs on different molecules repel one another strongly, thus hindering the molecules from approaching each other. Since oxygen has more lone pairs than nitrogen, the repulsive force between these molecules is stronger, which makes polymerization more difficult. However, the number of lone pairs cannot be the only determinant of the polymerization pressure. "We believe that it is a combination of the number of lone pairs and the strength of the bonds between the atoms," says Sun.
The many structures of oxygen
At high pressures, gaseous molecules such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, or nitrogen polymerize into chains, layers, or framework structures. At the same time they usually change from insulators to metals, i.e. they become more conductive with increasing pressure. The research team, however, showed that things are more complicated with oxygen. Under standard conditions, the molecule has insulating properties. If the pressure increases, oxygen metallises and becomes a superconductor. With further pressure increase, its structure changes into a polymer and it becomes semi-conducting. If the pressure rises even more, oxygen once more assumes metallic properties, meaning that the conductivity goes up again. The metallic polymer structure finally changes into a metallic layered structure.
Inside planets
"The polymerization of small molecules under high pressure has attracted much attention because it helps to understand the fundamental physics and chemistry of geological and planetary processes" explains Sun. "For instance, the pressure at the centre of Jupiter is estimated to be about seven terapascal. It was also found that polymerized molecules, like N2 and CO2, have intriguing properties, such as high energy densities and super-hardness." Dr. Jian Sun joined the RUB-research group of Prof. Dr. Dominik Marx as a Humboldt Research Fellow in 2008 to work on vibrational spectroscopy of aqueous solutions. In parallel to this joint work in Solvation Science he developed independent research interests into high pressure chemical physics as an Early Career Researcher.
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Journal Reference:
Jian Sun, Miguel Martinez-Canales, Dennis Klug, Chris Pickard, Richard Needs. Persistence and Eventual Demise of Oxygen Molecules at Terapascal Pressures. Physical Review Letters, 2012; 108 (4) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.045503
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NASA scientists awarded distinctions as 2012 AGU elected FellowsPublic release date: 30-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Elizabeth Zubritsky elizabeth.a.zubritsky@nasa.gov 301-614-5438 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA scientists figure prominently in the distinguished group honored as Fellows of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in 2012. Dr. F. Michael Flasar, a planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and Dr. Anthony D. Del Genio, a physical scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), New York, have been named AGU Fellows. Dr. James Slavin, who recently moved from NASA Goddard to the University of Michigan, was also named a Fellow.
These scientists are among the 61 new AGU Fellows elected in recognition of their acknowledged eminence in Earth and space sciences. No more than 0.1% of the total membership of AGU can receive this honor in any given year. New Fellows are nominated by their scientific peers and chosen by a committee of existing Fellows. The new Fellows will be presented with an official certificate during a ceremony to be held at the AGU meeting in San Francisco in the Fall of 2012.
"To be elected a Fellow of AGU is a special tribute, and it is great to see these outstanding Goddard scientists being recognized by their peers," says Dr. Nicholas White, Director of the Sciences and Exploration Directorate at NASA Goddard.
Flasar was cited for his "fundamental contributions to planetary and atmospheric science," particularly his research on the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, as well as Saturn's moon Titan, the only satellite in the solar system to have a planet-like atmosphere. He is the Principal Investigator for the infrared instrument, called the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS), aboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft. CIRS measures temperature and can provide a wealth of information about the surface, internal structure and atmosphere of a planet or moon. Flasar is also a member of the Cassini Radio Science team, which investigates Saturn's and Titan's atmospheres, measures the gravity of Saturn and its moons and studies the properties of Saturn's rings.
Studies by Flasar and his colleagues have highlighted the similarities between the meteorology and global climates of Earth and these other bodies, as well as the rich diversity of planetary atmospheres. Flasar predicted, for example, that Titan has a jet-stream-like wind pattern near the winter pole that isolates a pocket of air in much the same way that air currents on Earth set up the atmospheric conditions for the ozone holes to form. Detailed measurements made by CIRS later confirmed the existence of this wind pattern in the northern hemisphere. Flasar also was on the team that discovered one of Titan's most puzzling features: most of the atmosphere rotates up to 20 times faster than the moon itself.
A senior researcher at GISS, Del Genio was cited for "fundamental contributions in atmospheric and cloud physics, including the use remote sensing data, to improve basic understanding of climate physics and reliable climate forecasting capability."
Del Genio is perhaps best known in the science community for his fundamental physics-based parameterizations of clouds and rainstorms that he developed for the GISS global climate model and his insights into how cloud processes will change in a warming climate. He is among the few climate modelers who is also active in data analysis research and has used data from the NASA CloudSat and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Missions, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric System Research Program, to understand the sensitivity of storm clouds to environmental conditions. With his collaborators, he separated El Nio and Pacific Decadal Oscillation variability from 20th-century trends in sea surface temperature and meteorological fields and used satellite data to detect a strengthening of the tropical general circulation in the late 20th century.
Del Genio has had a long involvement in planetary science as well. His Pioneer Venus mission research with fellow GISS scientist Bill Rossow included the first application of automated cloud tracking techniques to satellite data. This work produced papers documenting for the first time Venus's then-unfamiliar global super-rotation as well as the planetary-scale waves that modulate its inter-annual variability. Del Genio is also a member of the Cassini mission imaging team and has documented winds and the processes responsible for maintaining the general circulation of the atmospheres of Saturn and Titan.
Slavin was recognized for "fundamental contributions to the understanding of the solar wind interactions with the planets and the structure and dynamics of the Earth's magnetosphere." He has served or is presently serving as a Science Investigator on 19 space science missions including the Cluster, Space Technology 5, MESSENGER, Magnetospheric MultiScale, and BepiColombo missions. During his three years with NASA, he served as director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Goddard, has held leadership positions in the Electrodynamics Branch and in Magnetospheric Physics at NASA Headquarters in Washington, and was a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Slavin is now a professor at the University of Michigan and chair of the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Department.
###
For more information about the AGU Fellow award, visit:
www.agu.org
For more information on Cassini's CIRS and Flasar's work, visit:
cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov
For more information on Del Genio's work, visit:
www.giss.nasa.gov/staff/adelgenio.html
For more information on Slavin's work, visit:
aoss.engin.umich.edu/people/jaslavin
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
NASA scientists awarded distinctions as 2012 AGU elected FellowsPublic release date: 30-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Elizabeth Zubritsky elizabeth.a.zubritsky@nasa.gov 301-614-5438 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA scientists figure prominently in the distinguished group honored as Fellows of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in 2012. Dr. F. Michael Flasar, a planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and Dr. Anthony D. Del Genio, a physical scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), New York, have been named AGU Fellows. Dr. James Slavin, who recently moved from NASA Goddard to the University of Michigan, was also named a Fellow.
These scientists are among the 61 new AGU Fellows elected in recognition of their acknowledged eminence in Earth and space sciences. No more than 0.1% of the total membership of AGU can receive this honor in any given year. New Fellows are nominated by their scientific peers and chosen by a committee of existing Fellows. The new Fellows will be presented with an official certificate during a ceremony to be held at the AGU meeting in San Francisco in the Fall of 2012.
"To be elected a Fellow of AGU is a special tribute, and it is great to see these outstanding Goddard scientists being recognized by their peers," says Dr. Nicholas White, Director of the Sciences and Exploration Directorate at NASA Goddard.
Flasar was cited for his "fundamental contributions to planetary and atmospheric science," particularly his research on the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, as well as Saturn's moon Titan, the only satellite in the solar system to have a planet-like atmosphere. He is the Principal Investigator for the infrared instrument, called the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS), aboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft. CIRS measures temperature and can provide a wealth of information about the surface, internal structure and atmosphere of a planet or moon. Flasar is also a member of the Cassini Radio Science team, which investigates Saturn's and Titan's atmospheres, measures the gravity of Saturn and its moons and studies the properties of Saturn's rings.
Studies by Flasar and his colleagues have highlighted the similarities between the meteorology and global climates of Earth and these other bodies, as well as the rich diversity of planetary atmospheres. Flasar predicted, for example, that Titan has a jet-stream-like wind pattern near the winter pole that isolates a pocket of air in much the same way that air currents on Earth set up the atmospheric conditions for the ozone holes to form. Detailed measurements made by CIRS later confirmed the existence of this wind pattern in the northern hemisphere. Flasar also was on the team that discovered one of Titan's most puzzling features: most of the atmosphere rotates up to 20 times faster than the moon itself.
A senior researcher at GISS, Del Genio was cited for "fundamental contributions in atmospheric and cloud physics, including the use remote sensing data, to improve basic understanding of climate physics and reliable climate forecasting capability."
Del Genio is perhaps best known in the science community for his fundamental physics-based parameterizations of clouds and rainstorms that he developed for the GISS global climate model and his insights into how cloud processes will change in a warming climate. He is among the few climate modelers who is also active in data analysis research and has used data from the NASA CloudSat and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Missions, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric System Research Program, to understand the sensitivity of storm clouds to environmental conditions. With his collaborators, he separated El Nio and Pacific Decadal Oscillation variability from 20th-century trends in sea surface temperature and meteorological fields and used satellite data to detect a strengthening of the tropical general circulation in the late 20th century.
Del Genio has had a long involvement in planetary science as well. His Pioneer Venus mission research with fellow GISS scientist Bill Rossow included the first application of automated cloud tracking techniques to satellite data. This work produced papers documenting for the first time Venus's then-unfamiliar global super-rotation as well as the planetary-scale waves that modulate its inter-annual variability. Del Genio is also a member of the Cassini mission imaging team and has documented winds and the processes responsible for maintaining the general circulation of the atmospheres of Saturn and Titan.
Slavin was recognized for "fundamental contributions to the understanding of the solar wind interactions with the planets and the structure and dynamics of the Earth's magnetosphere." He has served or is presently serving as a Science Investigator on 19 space science missions including the Cluster, Space Technology 5, MESSENGER, Magnetospheric MultiScale, and BepiColombo missions. During his three years with NASA, he served as director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Goddard, has held leadership positions in the Electrodynamics Branch and in Magnetospheric Physics at NASA Headquarters in Washington, and was a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Slavin is now a professor at the University of Michigan and chair of the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Department.
###
For more information about the AGU Fellow award, visit:
www.agu.org
For more information on Cassini's CIRS and Flasar's work, visit:
cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov
For more information on Del Genio's work, visit:
www.giss.nasa.gov/staff/adelgenio.html
For more information on Slavin's work, visit:
aoss.engin.umich.edu/people/jaslavin
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
FILE - In this May 21, 2010 file photo, Broadway performer and former "American Idol" contestant Constantine Maroulis attends the 16th Annual Cosmetic Executive Women Beauty Awards in New York. Marouliswill star in the dual title role of Dr. Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde. The tour will launch at San Diego's Civic Theatre in San Diego, California on October 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file)
FILE - In this May 21, 2010 file photo, Broadway performer and former "American Idol" contestant Constantine Maroulis attends the 16th Annual Cosmetic Executive Women Beauty Awards in New York. Marouliswill star in the dual title role of Dr. Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde. The tour will launch at San Diego's Civic Theatre in San Diego, California on October 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file)
NEW YORK (AP) ? A former "American Idol" contestant is heading to Broadway with a character who, it's safe to say, is truly two-faced.
Constantine Maroulis will play the title dual role in a revival of the musical "Jekyll & Hyde" that's slated to come to New York in spring 2013 after a 25-week national tour that starts in San Diego on Oct. 2, Nederlander Presentations Inc. announced Sunday.
Maroulis, who was a finalist on the fourth season of "American Idol," had a three-year run in Broadway's "Rock of Ages" and received a best actor Tony nomination and a Drama League nomination for his performance. He also played the role of Roger Davis in a recent national tour of "Rent."
Maroulis made his Broadway debut in "The Wedding Singer" and is currently in the title role of "Toxic Avenger" at the Alley Theatre in Houston. His debut album, "Constantine," was released on his own label, Sixth Place Records.
"Jekyll & Hyde" features a story and lyrics by two-time Oscar winner Leslie Bricusse and music by Frank Wildhorn, who co-conceived the musical. It will be directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun.
Additional cast and creative team, as well as tour cities, will be announced later.
Wildhorn has had a tough time on Broadway recently, with back-to-back shows that have failed. His show this spring called "Wonderland," an updated telling of "Alice in Wonderland," was poorly reviewed and his "Bonnie & Clyde" recently closed early this season.
"Jekyll & Hyde" made its Broadway debut in 1997 with such songs as "This is the Moment," ''A New Life" and "Someone Like You," earning four Tony nominations. It tells the story of a London doctor who accidentally unleashes his evil alternate personality in his quest to cure his father's mental illness.
Robert Cuccioli played the lead, and Sebastian Bach and David Hasselhoff later took over. After 1,543 performances, the production played its final performance on Jan. 7, 2001.
It?s no longer a race between Mitt Romney and Not Romney. Newt Gingrich?s resurgence is rooted in the candidate he is, rather than the candidate he is not.
Gingrich has proven able to win with a broader coalition than Romney. That coalition eviscerated Romney?s double-digit lead in national polls. The GOP race is now a dead heat between the two men. Romney remains the favorite. But Gingrich is a serious contender for the nomination. And it?s a mistake to limit Gingrich?s GOP appeal to what Romney is not.
LONDON ? Two giant pandas on loan to a Scottish zoo have been removed from display while being treated for colic.
Edinburgh Zoo officials say female panda Tian Tian was treated by a veterinarian for the illness on Saturday, just as her male companion Yang Guang is recovering from a bout diagnosed earlier this month.
Officials say the illness is not serious, but can cause discomfort and requires medication.
The zoo said Tian Tian would be allowed "to relax privately away from public view" over the weekend.
Yang Guang is expected to be back on view Monday.
The 8-year-old pair are the first pandas to live in Britain in nearly two decades. They arrived from China in December and are expected to draw huge crowds of visitors to the zoo.
Looking to add some muscle to your mobile recording kit? MOTU waited to pull the curtain back on the MicroBook II until after NAMM, revealing a revamped portable audio interface for those who fancy tracking on-the-go. The studio-quality kit plays nice with both Mac and PC, offering a compact 4-input / 6-output, bus-powered recording option with 96kHz recording and playback support. Sporting inputs for mics (XLR), guitar, keyboard and powered speakers, the MicroBook II connects to your computer of choice via USB 2.0 and boasts on-board volume controls. All four inputs can be recorded simultaneously while internal CueMix tech allows for a unique stereo mix for each output pair. Speaking of outputs, the diminutive box houses six of said channels alongside TRS 1/4-inch, stereo mini, S/PDIF, and 1/4-inch headphone offerings. You'll have to wait until Spring to snag one, but for now hit the PR after the break for a full list of specs.
This is a teen-written article from our friends at Youth Communication, a nonprofit organization that helps marginalized youth develop their full potential through reading and writing.
Rafiat, 19, says that five years from now, she hopes to be ?heading into my first year of getting my master?s degree.? She hasn?t always been as committed to education. After several years of cutting school, she moved to Texas, caught up, and is now finishing her final semester in Brooklyn, New York. She will graduate in June.
Matthew, 21, fell behind in school, but caught up just in time. The age limit for New York high school students is 21, and Matthew will graduate in June. He hopes to become a chef, a lawyer, or a child psychologist.
Alexis, 19, dropped out of high school when his daughter, who is now 1?, was born. He eventually re-enrolled in a transfer school and graduated in March. He plans to go into business management.
Marco, 17, wants ?to do aerospace engineering and study propulsion systems? in college. If he doesn?t sound to you like someone who hates academics, you?re right. Marco?s obstacle is that he hasn?t felt challenged enough in school. Marco is graduating on time, in June, but says he wishes he?d had more opportunities to, for example, take AP classes and electives during high school.
What have been your greatest obstacles in school?
Matthew: My biggest obstacle was staying focused. The work they give me is easy, but I catch myself dozing off, looking out the window, or being on the computer and just wasting time.
Rafiat: Sometimes I?d go to school with my sneakers totally busted and my hair mussed up. I?d get teased and that would really hurt me, to where I wouldn?t want to come to school?so I wouldn?t. The more days I missed, the less I?d care. A week turns into months; months turn into a semester. I don?t know how I was getting promoted to the next grade, since I was never in school.
My mom was sick and tired of me skipping, so she shipped me off to Texas. It was a huge change in my life. Then my mom got sick, so I came back to Brooklyn and I signed up at a transfer school.
Alexis: My biggest obstacle was people. People laugh at you for studying. You do good and it?s considered bad.
Rafiat: Sometimes I would have a book in my hand and my friends would be like, ?Why are you reading? What is this? What?s wrong with you?? I?d tell them, ?I love to read, because it?s more interesting than staring at a flat-screen TV. Sometimes I like to imagine things.?
How much do you think your friends have influenced your commitment to education?
Rafiat: My friends were the ones who got me started ditching. In 5th or 6th grade they were like, ?You should come over,? and I was like, ?I got school,? and they were like, ?Don?t worry about that; you know you don?t gotta go.? It became like an addiction.
Now, of those five or six friends, I only hang out with two of them. Those two both have kids, and now they encourage me to go to school because they?ve seen the difference not having an education makes since they?ve had kids. They can?t get a job; they have to depend on men; they can?t provide for themselves; they have to hustle. I?m the only one who doesn?t have kids, so they?re like, ?We love you. Please go to school because you?re the last hope for all of us.?
Alexis: A lot of my friends dropped out, but even so they?re like, ?Nah, nah, you going to school, though.? I used to get dressed to go out to parties with them and they?d say: ?Where you going?? They would ditch me, basically because they didn?t want me to go party and to drop out.
When you were in elementary school, do you remember liking school, hating it, or feeling indifferent?
Alexis: I used to actually like school, but everyone around me hated it. My brother: ?I hate going to school.? My sister: ?I hate going to school.? Even my mom. Eventually, I?m like, you know what? I don?t want to be the only outcast. So I?d say, ?I don?t like school, either!? Eventually, if you say something often enough, you believe it. That?s why it?s important to have a positive mindset.
Rafiat: I?d hate going to school because I had to deal with students who wanted to mess with me and I?d have to fight them to show them that I could defend myself. And I?d hate coming home because my aunt was right there, and if I didn?t do my writing or my math homework right, I?d get beat and sent to the bathroom to think about what I?d done wrong.
How has your family influenced your feelings about education?
Alexis: They?re supportive, as long as it doesn?t take nothing out of their pockets or affect them in any way.
When I was in 9th grade, I started getting into a lot of problems that almost cost my life. I?d ask my uncles if I could go stay with them in different states, and they?d say, ?Oh, I got my own problems.? Yet, you?re calling me and telling me you love me? I?m telling you that people are shooting at me!
You encourage someone by showing them that you?ll be there. My big brother was my father figure and if I really needed something, he was the only person who would take time out of his life and give it to me.
Matthew: My mother is the biggest supportive influence on my education. It surprised me when I learned two years ago that she had her GED and not a high school diploma. She told me that she had to leave high school after getting into a fight.
The whole time I was in high school, I didn?t think I?d ever finish by the age limit of 21 and I said, ?Let me try to get my GED.? My mother said I was better off with a high school diploma because it looks better on a r?sum?. Even though the GED is supposed to be equal to it, she taught me that it?s viewed as a dropouts? qualification. So she has been the biggest influence to keep me in school.
Click here to read more on YouthComm.org.
Help Youth Communication's teen writers make their voices heard. Donate now. Reprinted with permission from Youth Communication.
ATLANTA ? As a young college professor running for Congress, Newt Gingrich wanted to sharpen his debating skills.
Admirers say the Republican was always a dynamic speaker, but with flaws. He frowned. He tilted his head oddly and fell back repeatedly on the same words. He went for the rhetorical jugular. Supporters worried that TV cameras magnified those delivery problems.
Gingrich didn't need to look far for help. In the building next to the one where Gingrich taught history at West Georgia College, professor Chester Gibson coached students whose ranks now include a former Georgia governor, high-powered Atlanta attorneys, judges and preachers. He gave Gingrich free help as a new candidate.
Strong debate performances have kept alive Gingrich's candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination after a bleak period last summer when his staff quit and his campaign fell into debt. After a commanding performance in a pair of South Carolina debates, Gingrich has not performed as strong lately. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was considerably more aggressive in a Florida debate on Thursday, repeatedly putting Gingrich on the defensive.
Now retired, Gibson said he still sees Gingrich's old habits ? good and bad ? in the presidential debates.
"Gingrich is clearly the best debater in the final four," said Gibson, who communicates by email because doctors removed his voice box in 2010 during cancer treatment. "No contest. A Gingrich-Obama debate would be one of the great moments in American political history."
The pair met in 1970 when they started teaching at West Georgia College, now called the University of West Georgia. Gibson coached Gingrich before his first unsuccessful run for the House in 1974 and kept working with him until Gingrich won four years later. Gibson said the coaching continued into Gingrich's early years in office. A Gingrich spokesman did not respond to requests for information for this report.
Gibson, 70, said Gingrich's problem was delivery, not substance.
"He was poised, confident, quick on his feet and well versed in both U.S. and world history," Gibson said. "He read everything that he could get his hands on. His greatest asset was his incredible memory."
In their coaching sessions, Gibson said he filmed Gingrich speaking so he could see his mistakes. The students on Gibson's debate team ? one was Randy Evans, now Gingrich's longtime attorney ? listened and critiqued Gingrich's speeches. They researched the positions of his political opponents and constructed arguments. Gibson traveled with Gingrich to debates so they could practice in the car.
Gibson pushed his students to win.
"He just worked endlessly and worked us very hard because he was as competitive as all get-out," said trial lawyer Paul Weathington, one of Gibson's debaters and a nationally ranked debater in college.
Gibson told Gingrich to work on his body language. When listening intently to another speaker, he tended to frown ? a bad habit that Gibson said the Republican candidate has not fully stopped. In fact, Gingrich recently told reporters that his granddaughter told him to smile more and that she counts his grins during debates.
"I am always pleased when I see a grin because I know that he is ready to launch into a great answer to the question," Gibson said.
Years ago, Gibson encouraged Gingrich to tone down grandiose statements, saying they distract the audience from the message.
Then, as now, Gingrich would occasionally cock his head oddly to the right, Gibson said. When he latched onto a word, he'd use it repeatedly.
"Listen to the number of times that he uses the word `frankly,'" Gibson said. "You will lose count."
Gingrich understands how to exploit TV debates and has avoided any major gaffes, said Mitchell McKinney, a communications professor at the University of Missouri who studies presidential debates. When his campaign was lagging, Gingrich baited the front-runners to engage him during debates, which helped him get airtime. He also picks messages that are sure to be replayed on TV. It adds up to free publicity.
"These moments get captured and played over and over," McKinney said.
One such moment came last week in the South Carolina. CNN debate moderator John King started the broadcast by asking Gingrich to respond to his second ex-wife's accusation that he asked her for an open marriage.
"I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office," said Gingrich, on his way to gaining a standing ovation from the audience. "And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that."
He won the primary two days later.
___
Follow Ray Henry on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rhenryAP
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Iran is unlikely to move toward building a nuclear weapon this year because it does not yet have the capability to produce enough weapon-grade uranium, a draft report by the Institute for Science and International Security said on Wednesday.
The report by the institute founded by nuclear expert David Albright offered a more temperate view of Iran's nuclear program than some of the heated rhetoric that has surfaced since the United States and its allies stepped up sanctions on Tehran.
"Iran is unlikely to decide to dash toward making nuclear weapons as long as its uranium enrichment capability remains as limited as it is today," the report said.
The United States and Iran are engaged in a war of words over sanctions, with Iran threatening to retaliate by blocking oil shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The United States said it would not allow that to happen.
The escalating rhetoric and tensions have led to concerns about the potential for missteps between the adversaries that might spiral into a military confrontation that neither wants.
But the report, financed by a grant from the United States Institute of Peace, said Iran had not made a decision to build a nuclear bomb. The USIP is an independent, non-partisan center created by the U.S. Congress in 1984 that receives federal government funding.
"Iran is unlikely to break out in 2012, in great part because it is deterred from doing so," said the ISIS report, which has not yet been publicly released.
The report turns down the temperature, saying that sanctions and the fear of a military strike by Israel on Iran's nuclear facilities have worked as a deterrent.
The institute has advised U.S. and foreign governments about Iran's nuclear capabilities and Albright is considered a respected expert on the issue. The report tracks closely with what is known of official U.S. government assessments.
U.S. officials say Iran has not made the decision to build a nuclear weapon and that Iranian leaders haven't made the decision because they have to weigh the cost and benefits of building a nuclear weapon.
Much of what the Iranians are doing with their nuclear program has civilian uses, but they are keeping their options open, which significantly adds to the air of ambiguity, U.S. officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Some conservative and Israeli analysts in the past have challenged these types of assessments, asserting that Iranian nuclear efforts are sufficiently advanced that they could build a bomb in a year or less.
But according to the institute's report: "Although Iran is engaged in nuclear hedging, no evidence has emerged that the regime has decided to build nuclear weapons."
"Such a decision may be unlikely to occur until Iran is first able to augment its enrichment capability to a point where it would have the ability to make weapon-grade uranium quickly and secretly," the report obtained by Reuters said.
It added that despite a report last November by the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency alleging that Iran had made significant progress on nuclear weaponization, "Iran's essential challenge remains developing a secure capability to make enough weapon-grade uranium, likely for at least several nuclear weapons."
Some European intelligence officials have disputed a U.S. National Intelligence Estimate published in 2003 which said that Iran had stopped working on a program it had launched earlier to design and build a bomb.
The Europeans maintain that Iran never stopped research and scientific development efforts which could be bomb-related.
Tensions spiked after Iran announced earlier this month that it had begun to enrich uranium deep inside an underground facility near the holy city of Qom. The secretly built facility was publicly revealed by the United States in 2009.
AIRSTRIKES 'OVERSOLD'
Among possible policy options for halting Iran's nuclear program, one of the least likely to be successful is a military attack on its nuclear program, according to the institute's report.
Limited military options, such as airstrikes against nuclear facilities, are "oversold as to their ability to end or even significantly delay Iran's nuclear program," the report said. Limited bombing campaigns would be "unlikely to destroy Iran's main capability" to produce weapon-grade uranium, it said.
Iran has taken precautions by dispersing the centrifuges it uses for enrichment to multiple locations, has mastered the construction of centrifuges, and has probably stockpiled extra centrifuges, the institute said.
A bombing campaign that did not totally eliminate these capabilities would leave Iran "able to quickly rebuild" its nuclear program and even motivate it to set up a Manhattan Project-style crash program to build a bomb, which would only make the region more dangerous and unstable, according to the institute.
The report said that clandestine intelligence operations aimed at detecting secret Iranian nuclear activities, including the construction of new underground sites, are "vitally important." Known methods used by spy agencies include the recruitment of secret agents, cyber spying operations, overhead surveillance by satellites and drones, and bugging of equipment which Iran buys from foreign suppliers.
The report says another "well known tactic" used by Western spy agencies against Iran has been to infiltrate Iranian networks that smuggle nuclear-related equipment and supply them with plans or items which are faulty or sabotaged. The report says this tactic has helped the West to uncover at least one of Iran's secret nuclear sites and, according to official statements by the Iranians, has caused enrichment centrifuges to break.
Other more violent covert operations strategies, particularly the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists and engineers, have "serious downsides and implications," such as high risks of Iranian retaliation through militant attacks which could be directed against civilian targets. The United States has emphatically denied any involvement in the assassinations.
The report said that since thousands of specialists are involved in the Iranian nuclear program, assassinations were unlikely to be effective in slowing it down. It also warned that Iran could construe assassinations as acts of war and use them to justify retaliation.
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WASHINGTON ? Mitt Romney's tax returns tell the tale: Yes, he's rich ? really rich.
His returns, spanning more than 500 pages and released under political pressure Tuesday, represent an extraordinary financial accounting of one of the wealthiest U.S. presidential candidates in generations, with his annual income topping $20 million.
It remains unclear how the details of Romney's fortune will play among American workers, who on average earn less in a lifetime than Romney paid in taxes in 2010 alone. Meanwhile, the typical taxpayer pays a similar share of his income to Uncle Sam as he does, roughly 15 percent.
Romney's returns ? which include a 2011 tax estimate ? spilled out new details of his scattered holdings, tax strategies and charitable donations. Romney paid about $3 million in federal income taxes in 2010, having earned more than seven times that from his investments.
The documents quickly became fodder for his opponents, with Democrats chiding the former Massachusetts governor for not disclosing more about his financial history. The White House also weighed in about tax fairness as President Barack Obama prepared for his State of the Union Address.
Romney is hardly the only wealthy American seeking the presidency, though he's on a level all his own.
Republican rival Newt Gingrich, who had publicly pressed him to release his tax information, released his own return for 2010 last week. It revealed that Gingrich earned more than $3.1 million, mostly from $2.5 million paid by his companies, partnerships and investments, and paid just under $1 million in federal tax, a rate of about 31 percent.
Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported income of $1.73 million last year, mostly from the books he's written, and paid $453,770 in federal taxes.
Romney's tax returns showed he continues to profit from Bain Capital, the private equity firm he founded but no longer runs; from a Swiss bank account closed just as he launched his campaign and from new listings of investment funds set up overseas.
Romney had long refused to disclose any federal tax returns, then hinted he would offer a single year's return in April. Yet mounting criticism from his rivals and a hard loss in last week's South Carolina primary forced his hand.
"Governor Romney has paid 100 percent of what he owes," said Benjamin Ginsberg, the campaign's legal counsel. Ginsberg and other advisers said Romney did not use any aggressive tax strategies to help reduce or defer his tax income.
For 2011, Romney will pay about $3.2 million with an effective tax rate of about 15.4 percent, the campaign said. Those returns haven't yet been filed yet with the Internal Revenue Service. In total, he would pay more than $6.2 million in taxes on $45 million in income over the past two years, his campaign said.
Romney had been cast by his GOP opponents as a wealthy businessman who earned lucrative payouts from his investments while Bain slashed jobs in the private sector. Romney concedes that some companies Bain invested in were unsuccessful but says others created large numbers of jobs.
As for his own tax payments, he said in Monday night's debate in Tampa, "I pay all the taxes that are legally required and not a dollar more. ... I don't think you want someone as the candidate for president who pays more taxes than he owes."
He added, "You'll see my income, how much taxes I've paid, how much I've paid to charity."
Romney's 2010 return showed about $4.5 million in itemized deductions, including $1.5 million contributed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Romney's charitable giving is above average, even for someone at his income level, according to IRS data.
Romney's GOP rivals did not immediately comment on his tax disclosures. But House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, defended him, telling reporters that Romney's tax rate is close to the 15 percent rate most Americans pay on long-term capital gains from the sale of investments.
Romney's advisers stressed that he met all his federal tax obligations, provided maximum transparency and did not take advantage of what they described as "aggressive" strategies often used by the ultra-rich. Still, for millions of taxpayers grappling with their own returns as tax season looms, Romney's multimillion dollar wealth provides a window into an unfamiliar world.
His 2010 return shows a number of foreign investments, including funds in Ireland, Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg. Most of Romney's vast fortune is held in a blind trust that he doesn't control. A portion is held in a retirement account.
Romney's advisers acknowledged Tuesday that Romney and his wife, Ann, had a bank account in Switzerland as part of her trust. The account was worth $3 million and was held in the United Bank of Switzerland, said R. Bradford Malt, a Boston lawyer who makes investments for the Romneys and oversees their blind trust, which was set up to avoid any conflicts of interest in investments during his run for the presidency.
In 2009, UBS admitted assisting U.S. citizens in evading taxes and agreed to pay a $780 million penalty as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department.
The political discussion over releasing Romney's tax information highlighted an argument that Democrats are already starting to use against him ? that he is out of touch with normal Americans. And it may well have hurt him in the South Carolina primary, where he lost by 12 percentage points to Gingrich after spending several days resisting calls to release the returns.
Asked during a round of television interviews about Romney's relatively modest tax rate, Obama adviser David Plouffe said: "We need to change our tax system. We need to change our tax code so that everybody is doing their fair share." Obama planned to talk about economic fairness in his State of the Union speech to Congress Tuesday night.
Other Democratic Party voices were less restrained. "He used every loophole in the book available to the wealthy and corporations to avoid paying his fair share," said Democratic National Committee Executive Director Patrick Gaspard.
On the other hand, Romney's wife, Ann, had told supporters at a Florida rally on Sunday: "I want to remind you where we know our riches are. Our riches are with our families."
___
Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher and Alan Fram in Washington and Kasie Hunt in Tampa, contributed.
___
Follow Jack Gillum at http://twitter.com/jackgillum
WASHINGTON ? Declaring the American dream under siege, President Barack Obama delivered a populist challenge Tuesday night to shrink the gap between rich and poor, promising to tax the wealthy more and help jobless Americans get work and hang onto their homes. Seeking re-election and needing results, the president invited Republicans to join him but warned, "I intend to fight."
In an emphatic State of the Union address, Obama said ensuring a fair shot for all Americans is "the defining issue of our time." He said the economy is finally recovering from a deep and painful recession and he will fight any effort to return to policies that brought it low.
"We've come too far to turn back now," he declared.
Obama outlined a vastly different vision for fixing the country than the one pressed by the Republicans confronting him in Congress and fighting to take his job in the November election. He pleaded for an active government that ensures economic fairness for everyone, just as his opponents demand that the government back off and let the free market rule.
Obama offered steps to help students afford college, a plan for more struggling homeowners to refinance their homes and tax cuts for manufacturers. He threw in politically appealing references to accountability, including warning universities they will lose federal aid if they don't stop tuition from soaring.
Standing in front of a divided Congress, with bleak hope this election year for much of his legislative agenda, Obama spoke with voters in mind.
"We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by," Obama said. "Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules."
A rare wave of unity splashed over the House chamber at the start. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, survivor of an assassination attempt one year ago, received sustained applause from her peers and cheers of "Gabby, Gabby, Gabby." She blew a kiss to the podium. Obama embraced her.
Lawmakers leapt to their feet when Obama said near the start of his speech that terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, killed by a raid authorized by the president, will no longer threaten America.
At the core of Obama's address was the improving but deeply wounded economy ? the matter still driving Americans' anxiety and the one likely to determine the next presidency.
"The state of our union is getting stronger," Obama said, calibrating his words as millions remain unemployed. Implicit in his declaration that the American dream is "within our reach" was the recognition that, after three years of an Obama presidency, the country is not there yet.
He spoke of restoring basic goals: owning a home, earning enough to raise a family, putting a little money away for retirement.
"We can do this," Obama said. "I know we can." He said Americans are convinced that "Washington is broken," but he also said it wasn't too late to cooperate on important matters.
Republicans were not impressed. They applauded infrequently, though they did cheer when the president quoted "Republican Abraham Lincoln" as saying: "That government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves ? and no more."
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, offering the formal GOP response, called Obama's policies "pro-poverty" and his tactics divisive.
"No feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others," Daniels said after the president's address.
In a signature swipe at the nation's growing income gap, Obama called for a new minimum tax rate of at least 30 percent on anyone making over $1 million. Many millionaires ? including one of his chief rivals, Republican Mitt Romney ? pay a rate less than that because they get most of their income from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate.
"Now you can call this class warfare all you want," Obama said, responding to a frequent criticism from the GOP presidential field. "But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense."
Obama calls this the "Buffett rule," named for billionaire Warren Buffett, who has said it's unfair that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. Emphasizing the point, Buffett's secretary, Debbie Bosanek, attended the address in first lady Michelle Obama's box.
Obama underlined every proposal with the idea that hard work and responsibility still count. He was targeting independent voters who helped seal his election in 2008 and the frustrated masses in a nation pessimistic about its course.
In a flag-waving defense of American power and influence abroad, Obama said the U.S. will safeguard its own security "against those who threaten our citizens, our friends and our interests." On Iran, he said that while all options are on the table to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon ? an implied threat to use military force ? "a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible."
With Congress almost universally held in low regard, Obama went after an easy target in calling for reforms to keep legislators from engaging in insider trading and holding them to the same conflict-of-interest standards as those that apply to the executive branch.
With the foreclosure crisis on ongoing sore spot despite a number of administration housing initiatives over the past three years, Obama proposed a new program to allow homeowners with privately held mortgages to refinance at lower interest rates. Administration officials offered few details but estimated savings at $3,000 a year for average borrowers.
Obama proposed steps to crack down on fraud in the financial sector and mortgage industry, with a Financial Crimes Unit to monitor bankers and financial service professionals, and a separate special unit of federal prosecutors and state attorneys general to expand investigations into abusive lending that led to the housing crisis.
At a time of tight federal budgets and heavy national debt, Obama found a ready source of money to finance his ideas: He proposed to devote half of the money no longer being spent on the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan to "do some nation-building right here at home," to help create more jobs and increase competitiveness. The other half, he said, would go to help pay down the national debt.
Obama also offered a defense of regulations that protect the American consumer ? regulations often criticized by Republicans as job-killing obstacles.
"Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that do the same," Obama said. "It's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts and no cop-outs. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody."
Obama will follow up Tuesday night's address with a three-day tour of five states key to his re-election bid. On Wednesday he'll visit Iowa and Arizona to promote ideas to boost American manufacturing; on Thursday in Nevada and Colorado he'll discuss energy, and in Michigan on Friday he'll talk about college affordability, education and training.
Polling shows Americans are divided about Obama's overall job performance but unsatisfied with his handling of the economy.
The speech Tuesday night comes just one week before the Florida Republican primary that could help set the trajectory for the rest of the race.
Romney, caught up in a tight contest with a resurgent Newt Gingrich, commented in advance to Obama's speech.
"Tonight will mark another chapter in the misguided policies of the last three years ? and the failed leadership of one man," Romney said from Florida.
Katy Perry continues to stay in the headlines following her divorce from Russell Brand. This time around the songstress has created buzz after dropping Brand from her Twitter account and kissing a fan on stage during her tour. Teenage Dream singer Katy Perry has unfollowed her soon to be ex-husband, comedian Russell Brand on Twitter. In the weeks followingthe end of the couples 14 month marriage, and now divorce, several sources have shared that Perry has decided to limit her interactions with Russell after attempting to reportedly get back together, trying to work things out. Unfortunately Brand reportedly told his bride they should just move on, and there isn’t any chance to reconcile their marriage, leaving a sad Perry to drop him from her account. Since the only communication with the thirty-six year old Katy has had via the phone or by email. “She’s limiting those interactions,” a source divulged to Us Weekly. “He’s being so atrocious that she feels like she never really knew him.” Trying to remain strong and confident on the outside, Perry’s friends have been left trying to cheer the Fireworks singer up now that her marriage is over. Her girlfriends are apparently organizing a ‘newly [...]
Hebron, West Bank ? Hamas? political chief is stepping down after nearly 16 years, leaving the militant Palestinian group with a potential leadership battle just as Islamist allies elsewhere in the Middle East are enjoying momentum from election victories.
Khaled Meshal, who headed Hamas? headquarters in Damascus, recently informed the group?s leadership council that he won?t stand for reelection, said a Hamas spokesperson in Gaza. It is unclear exactly why Mr. Meshal is choosing to step aside and who is likely to succeed him.
Recent upheaval in the Middle East has been a mixed bag for Hamas. On the one hand, it has empowered groups like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, which controls nearly half of the new parliament, prompting Hamas leaders to boast about an "Islamic Spring" and emboldening backers in the West Bank. But the very same regional changes have cast it adrift from its headquarters in Syria and prompted Meshal to suggest non-militarized confrontation with Israel, to the chagrin of some in the movement.
Think you know the Middle East? Take our geography quiz.
The outcome of the Hamas leadership change could impact relations with Israel and the US, which consider it a terrorist group, and the rest of the international community.
"It is important to see whether this vacuum will be filled by the moderates or a hawk, because this will affect the future of Hamas and Palestinian politics," says Mohammed Dejani, a political science professor at Al Quds University who believes the Muslim Brotherhood victory will force Hamas to mellow.
Islamic Spring misread?"People are misreading the Islamic movements in Egypt and Tunis. It is an Islamic Spring, but it's not an Islamic Spring Hamas thinks about. There has been a religious revival, but in a sense of moderation and not in a sense of religious fundamentalism."
Meshal was once considered more of a hard-liner compared to Hamas? leaders in the Gaza Strip. However, talk of a shift away from military action and accepting a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have made him look like a pragmatist. He has also been spearheading efforts toward reconciliation with President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party, which support talks with Israel and reject military confrontation.
He had ample reason for the apparent shift. In recent months Hamas started moving staff and families out of Damascus because of the fighting in Syria. Observers believe that Hamas is seeking to open a headquarters in Egypt, and wants to signal that it has the potential to recast itself as more moderate.
Speculation about Mr. Meshal?s departure ranged from losing a power struggle with rivals from the Gaza Strip to a desire to go along with regional trends toward democracy and regime change.
That said, few expect that Hamas? evolution will be as far reaching as recognizing Israel and approving peace talks. That would risk making the organization look like President Abbas? Fatah party, which is faulted by Palestinians for failing to win independence though negotiations.
Hard-liners astonishedEven with the current signs of change, Hamas risks alienating its foot soldiers in the Gaza Strip with conciliatory moves. Meshal raised eyebrows with his comments on non-militarized grassroots resistance in a December interview with The Associated Press in which he said that grassroots "popular" protests have the "power of a tsunami."
"Armed resistance is the only way to liberate Palestine, all of Palestine. Seriously, I was astonished when I heard" Mr. Meshal?s comment, said Abu Hassan, a member of the Al Qassam military wing in the Gaza Strip. "I really don?t know what is wrong with Hamas?. Many Hamas Qassam commanders will oppose this idea."
Despite the struggles with ideology, Hamas leaders believe that the winds of regional change are at their back as the spread of elections empowers political Islam. They see parallels to their own history: Hamas rose to political prominence among the Palestinians in democratic elections six years ago, capturing a majority of seats in the Palestinian parliament by channeling popular fatigue with an old guard who were willing to deal with the West.
The recent elections in Egypt gave the Muslim Brotherhood nearly half the seats in the next parliament there, a democratic mandate that is likely to translate into a much more friendly environment for Hamas there compared to the open enmity of former President Hosni Mubarak.
"We as Palestinians paid the price for the Arab dictatorship," says Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesperson in the Gaza Strip. "We believe that this result of the democratic process might mean full support for Palestinian rights and interest, now that [Arab governments?] hearts are with the people."
A Palestinian poll last month found that the approval rating of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip rose 7 percentage points to 41 percent from three months earlier. That said, the Islamic militant party still polls second to the secular Fatah party when Palestinians ask about their electoral preferences.
Elections coming soonThe improved public standing of Hamas has given a push to talks aimed at ending a four-and-a-half-year rift with Fatah. Hamas and Fatah have agreed in principle to holding elections in May of this year, and the sides are discussing confidence building measures like a prisoner release. Still, there?s been little progress on implementation.
Hamas legislator Bassem Zarir contends that the success of Islamic parties elsewhere have given Hamas new international prestige. He claims that European diplomats have sought him out for the first time to pick his brain about Hamas' links to the Muslim Brotherhood.
"We are stronger than at any other time," he boasts.
That sense of momentum has filtered down to the streets of the West Bank, where small groups of Hamas supporters have organized demonstrations calling for the release of Islamists in PA prisons.
A year ago Hamas supporters wouldn?t have dared to hold a public protest in the West Bank for fear of arrest by the Palestinian Authority, dominated by the rival Fatah party. But on a recent day, a group of about two dozen Islamist women ? wearing green sashes and their faces covered ? protested in the central square of Hebron to accuse the PA of holding political prisoners.
"Our feeling is that what is going on in the Arab Spring is in our favor," says Lama Khater, a 34-year old Islamist journalist who comes out to weekly demonstrations. "It has pushed us to come out."
A balancing act That said, the protest turnout at the Hebron city square was modest, a sobering sign that most Islamist backers still fear of a crackdown by the Palestinian Authority security services.
Whether or not political Islam is able to continue to gain momentum among Palestinians may depend on a balancing act between Mehsal?s new efforts at moderation and reaffirming its long held hard-line ideology that sets it apart from Abbas and Fatah.
"We haven?t reached [Fatah?s] level," says legislator Zarir. "We appreciate this flexibility and are happy about it ... as long as it doesn?t infringe on our basic principles."
Ahmed Aldabba contributed reporting from Gaza City, Gaza.
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Advantages of living in the dark: The multiple evolution events of 'blind' cavefishPublic release date: 22-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr Hilary Glover hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com 44-020-319-22370 BioMed Central
The blind Mexican cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus) have not only lost their sight but have adapted to perpetual darkness by also losing their pigment (albinism) and having altered sleep patterns. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology shows that the cavefish are an example of convergent evolution, with several populations repeatedly, and independently, losing their sight and pigmentation.
The blind cavefish and the surface dwelling Mexican tetra, despite appearances, are the same species and can interbreed. The cavefish are simply a variant of the Mexican tetra, albeit one adapted to living in complete darkness. A team of researchers from Portugal, America, and Mexico studied the DNA from 11 populations of cavefish (from three geographic regions) and 10 populations of their surface dwelling cousins to help understand the evolutionary origin of the physical differences between them.
While results from the genotyping showed that the surface populations were genetically very similar, the story for the cave populations was very different. The cave forms had a much lower genetic diversity, probably as a result of limited space and food. Not surprisingly the cave populations with the most influx from the surface had the highest diversity. In fact there seemed to be a great deal of migration in both directions.
It has been thought that historically at least two groups of fish lived in the rivers of Sierra de El Abra, Mexico. One group originally colonized the caves, but became extinct on the surface. A different population then restocked the rivers and also invaded the caves.
Prof Richard Borowsky, from the Cave Biology Group at New York University explained, "We were fortunate in being able to use A. mexicanus as a kind of 'natural' experiment where nature has already provided the crosses and isolation events between populations for us. Our genotyping results have provided evidence that the cave variant had at least five separate evolutionary origins from these two ancestral stocks."
Dr Martina Bradic who lead the research continued, "Despite interbreeding and gene flow from the surface populations the eyeless 'cave phenotype' has been maintained in the caves. This indicates that there must be strong selection pressure against eyes in the cave environment. Whatever the advantage of the eyeless condition, it may explain why different populations of A. mexicanus cave fish have independently evolved the same eyeless condition, a striking example of convergent evolution."
Media Contact
Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central Tel: 44-20-3192-2370
Mob: 44-778-698-1967
Email: hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com
Notes to Editors
1. Gene flow and population structure in the Mexican blind cavefish complex (Astyanax mexicanus)
Martina Bradic, Peter Beerli, Francisco Garca-de Len, Sarai Esquivel-Bobadilla and Richard Borowsky
BMC Evolutionary Biology (in press)
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication.
2. BMC Evolutionary Biology is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of molecular and non-molecular evolution of all organisms, as well as phylogenetics and palaeontology.
3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Advantages of living in the dark: The multiple evolution events of 'blind' cavefishPublic release date: 22-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr Hilary Glover hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com 44-020-319-22370 BioMed Central
The blind Mexican cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus) have not only lost their sight but have adapted to perpetual darkness by also losing their pigment (albinism) and having altered sleep patterns. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology shows that the cavefish are an example of convergent evolution, with several populations repeatedly, and independently, losing their sight and pigmentation.
The blind cavefish and the surface dwelling Mexican tetra, despite appearances, are the same species and can interbreed. The cavefish are simply a variant of the Mexican tetra, albeit one adapted to living in complete darkness. A team of researchers from Portugal, America, and Mexico studied the DNA from 11 populations of cavefish (from three geographic regions) and 10 populations of their surface dwelling cousins to help understand the evolutionary origin of the physical differences between them.
While results from the genotyping showed that the surface populations were genetically very similar, the story for the cave populations was very different. The cave forms had a much lower genetic diversity, probably as a result of limited space and food. Not surprisingly the cave populations with the most influx from the surface had the highest diversity. In fact there seemed to be a great deal of migration in both directions.
It has been thought that historically at least two groups of fish lived in the rivers of Sierra de El Abra, Mexico. One group originally colonized the caves, but became extinct on the surface. A different population then restocked the rivers and also invaded the caves.
Prof Richard Borowsky, from the Cave Biology Group at New York University explained, "We were fortunate in being able to use A. mexicanus as a kind of 'natural' experiment where nature has already provided the crosses and isolation events between populations for us. Our genotyping results have provided evidence that the cave variant had at least five separate evolutionary origins from these two ancestral stocks."
Dr Martina Bradic who lead the research continued, "Despite interbreeding and gene flow from the surface populations the eyeless 'cave phenotype' has been maintained in the caves. This indicates that there must be strong selection pressure against eyes in the cave environment. Whatever the advantage of the eyeless condition, it may explain why different populations of A. mexicanus cave fish have independently evolved the same eyeless condition, a striking example of convergent evolution."
Media Contact
Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central Tel: 44-20-3192-2370
Mob: 44-778-698-1967
Email: hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com
Notes to Editors
1. Gene flow and population structure in the Mexican blind cavefish complex (Astyanax mexicanus)
Martina Bradic, Peter Beerli, Francisco Garca-de Len, Sarai Esquivel-Bobadilla and Richard Borowsky
BMC Evolutionary Biology (in press)
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication.
2. BMC Evolutionary Biology is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of molecular and non-molecular evolution of all organisms, as well as phylogenetics and palaeontology.
3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 30-Jan-2012
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