TOKYO ? Green cars rolled into the spotlight at the Tokyo auto show as Japan's automakers look to fuel efficient technology to reinvigorate growth after tough times.
The showcase for Japan's pillar auto industry was holding its preview for media on Wednesday ahead of opening to the public on Saturday.
Plug-in hybrids and electric cars are centerstage at the Tokyo Motor Show ? reflecting both how green cars are growing in popularity and the low profile of foreign automakers at the event.
The show been scaling back in recent years because of the waning importance of Japan as an auto market. Car makers ? including Japan's ? are increasingly looking to China, India and other nations with greater growth potential.
Ford Motor Co. of the U.S. skipped the show, and General Motors Co. had only a tiny corner booth. Just a handful of European makers such as BMW with a chance at wooing rich Japanese buyers had full-scale booths.
Japanese automakers have had a tough few years due to the strong yen, image problems from Toyota's massive recalls and the large production disruptions from the March disasters in northeastern Japan. But green technology remains a strong selling point for car makers such as Toyota Motor Corp. which pioneered broad consumer acceptance of gasoline-electric hybrid cars with its hit Prius.
Honda Motor Co. said it will start selling an electric version of its Fit subcompact in the U.S. and Japan by the middle of next year. It showed concept cars such as the AC-X plug-in hybrid, EV-STER electric roadster convertible and a tiny electric car called Micro Commuter
"We will continue to offer products with an edge," said Honda President Takanobu Ito before drinking orange juice poured by Honda's Asimo robot, which recently has gained more nimble human-like fingers.
Honda showed a portable battery that people could carry around and put not only in their electric cars and plug-ins but also in small electric scooters.
Nissan Motor Co. had an updated version of its futuristic-looking electric car called Pivo 3, which can drive itself, find parking spaces and swerve around in almost a complete circle.
Koichiro Imoto, who writes about Japan's auto industry, says overseas interest in the show has plunged, except for a handful of manufacturers like Volkswagen AG that do good business in Japan.
"Technology is the only thing Japan has to cling to so the show is trying to highlight those strengths," he said. "Selling the technological superiority is the only way left for Japan."
Toyota President Akio Toyoda was outright emotional at his presentation when he said Japan was going through hard times after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.
Japanese automakers, including Toyota Motor Corp., were forced to scale back production as parts suppliers in northeastern Japan were damaged.
That battering was followed by a smaller but similar problem when suppliers got hit by flooding in Thailand, Toyoda said.
"Japan has been plunged into sadness," he said, often gesturing with his hands to emphasize his points.
Toyota must do all it can to work with the people of northeastern Japan and Thailand to propel a recovery, he said.
"Our messages are 'Fun to drive again,' and 'Never give up,' " he said, using English phrases for the mottos.
Mamoru Katou, auto analyst with Tokai Tokyo Research, believes the most interesting models at the show are the ones close to being commercial models.
On display at Toyota's sprawling booth is the plug-in version of its hit Prius hybrid, which will start at 2.75 million yen ($35,200) with subsidies in Japan.
Toyota began taking orders in Japan for the plug-in on Tuesday. In the U.S., where Toyota has already started to take orders online, the car starts at $32,000 without subsidies, which will vary by state.
Toyota, which has sold more than 3.4 million hybrids worldwide so far, is targeting Prius plug-in sales of 60,000 a year globally. The car is set for delivery in Japan in January.
Toyota is also showing an electric car and a fuel cell prototype.
"Overall, interest is going to be diminished because the economy isn't doing so well around the world," Katou said. "But there's still interest in Toyota cars."
Carlos Ghosn, chief executive at Nissan ? which has been aggressive on electric vehicles with its Leaf car, but has been a straggler with hybrids compared to Toyota and Honda ? said no single green technology was going to dominate.
In about a decade, electric vehicles will make up 10 percent of the auto market as concerns grow about global warming, and governments in the U.S., Japan, Europe and China encourage their sales, he said.
"Zero-emission cars are going to become more and more popular," Ghosn said on the sidelines of the show. "You need to prepare the technologies."
___
Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama
ScienceDaily (Nov. 29, 2011) ? Bones contained entirely within the skin of some of the largest dinosaurs on Earth might have stored vital minerals to help the massive creatures survive and bear their young in tough times, according to new research by a team including a University of Guelph scientist.
Guelph biomedical scientist Matthew Vickaryous co-authored a paper published in Nature Communications about two sauropod dinosaurs -- an adult and a juvenile -- from Madagascar.
The study suggests that these long-necked plant-eaters used hollow "skin bones" called osteoderms to store minerals needed to maintain their huge skeletons and to lay large egg clutches. Sediments around the fossils show that the dinosaurs' environment was highly seasonal and semi-arid, with periodic droughts causing massive die-offs.
"Our findings suggest that osteoderms provided an internal source of calcium and phosphorus when environmental and physiological conditions were stressful," he said. As a researcher in the Department of Biomedical Sciences in Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College, Vickaryous studies how skeletons develop, regenerate and evolve.
He worked with paleontologist Kristina Curry Rogers and geologist Raymond Rogers at Macalaster College in Minnesota, and paleontologist Michael D'Emic, now at Georgia Southern University on the study. Vickaryous helped to interpret the results of CT scans and fossilized tissue cores taken from the dinosaurs.
Shaped like footballs sliced lengthwise and about the size of a gym bag in the adult, these bones are the largest osteoderms ever identified. The adult specimen's bone was hollow, likely caused by extensive bone remodelling, said Vickaryous.
Osteoderms were common among armoured dinosaurs. Stegosaurs had bony back plates and tail spikes, and ankylosaurs sported heavily armoured bodies and bony tail clubs. Today these "skin bones" appear in such animals as alligators and armadillos.
Such bones were rare among sauropod dinosaurs and have appeared only in titanosaurs. These massive plant-eaters included the largest-ever land animals. "This is the only group of long-necked sauropods with osteoderms," he said.
Other studies have shown that female titanosaurs laid dozens of volleyball-sized eggs. Modern crocodiles and alligators also lay clutches of dozens of eggs and are known to reabsorb minerals from their osteoderms.
The researchers found the new osteoderms along with two skeletons of the titanosaur Rapetosaurus. Unlike the hollow adult specimen, the juvenile specimen was solid and showed little evidence of remodelling. That suggests that osteoderms became more important mineral stores as the animals grew, Vickaryous said.
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Journal Reference:
Kristina Curry Rogers, Michael D'Emic, Raymond Rogers, Matthew Vickaryous, Amanda Cagan. Sauropod dinosaur osteoderms from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. Nature Communications, 2011; 2: 564 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1578
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Republicans in Congress on Tuesday threw their support behind a payroll tax cut extension, trying to blunt charges ahead of 2012 elections of favoring wealthy Americans over middle-class workers.
Until Tuesday, Republicans had been lukewarm on extending President Barack Obama's payroll tax cut for workers, indicating they were open to negotiating it but never explicitly backing a measure, which the White House says will boost the country's sputtering economic recovery.
The move by Republicans could help avert an end-of-year battle with Democrats after months of bitter budget battles that brought the country to the edge of default in August and cost it its coveted AAA rating from Standard & Poor's.
Some analysts estimate the payroll tax cut is estimated to boost economic growth by as much as 1.5 percentage points.
"In all likelihood we will agree to continue the current payroll tax relief for another year," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said after a closed-door meeting of his colleagues.
McConnell said there was now "a majority sentiment" among Republicans for continuing the temporary tax cut.
The Republican leader said the Senate and House of Representatives also would work to strike a deal on another contentious issue: Democratic demands to extend unemployment benefits that begin to expire on December 31.
"First we need to do the payroll tax. It's like a puzzle. It will fit together," a Democratic aide said of the tax cut and jobless benefit extensions.
By early next year, 2.1 million people will lose their unemployment insurance if the program is not extended for those who have been unable to find work for an extended period, amid a 9 percent jobless rate.
Without congressional action by December 31, the payroll tax that workers pay would revert to 6.2 percent, up from the current, temporary 4.2 percent tax.
2012 ELECTION MANEUVERS
In political maneuvers foreshadowing the 2012 presidential and congressional election debates, Democrats are arranging a Senate vote later this week to extend and expand the payroll tax cut.
They want to offset the lost revenue with a 3.25 percent tax on income over $1 million a year, but Republicans vehemently oppose raising taxes on the rich, arguing that would hurt job creation.
If Republicans block the measure, as expected, Democrats would paint them as the party of the rich.
Trying to get ahead of the game, McConnell proclaimed Republican support for the payroll tax cut extension and told reporters his party would soon propose its own ideas for covering the cost of the tax cut.
"The Democrats put them in a box," said Andrew Taylor, a North Carolina State University political science professor. "I think many Republicans realized this is a bad side of the argument to be on."
The Democratic measure due to be voted on Thursday would not only extend the payroll tax cut for a year. It also would further cut the tax to 3.1 percent, from the current 4.2 percent, and also put employer payroll tax payments at the low rate too.
Top White House economist Alan Krueger said on Tuesday that extending the tax cut would strengthen the U.S. economy.
"This is a critical time for the economy and I think it's a time when the economy could use more medicine to strengthen and sustain the recovery," Krueger told a news briefing.
McConnell did not provide details on how Republicans would offset the cost of extending the tax cut. There has been speculation among some Democratic aides in Congress that Republicans could take aim at new federal subsidies under President Barack Obama's overhaul of the healthcare system.
While that likely would prompt Democratic opposition, a new round of ideas later in December could find bipartisan backing.
Among the ways to potentially cover the cost of renewing the payroll tax cuts are: cutting federal farm subsidies, selling some government assets, reducing federal pensions and administrative savings in the Medicare healthcare program for the elderly. All these ideas have been discussed in past budget negotiations.
(Additional reporting by Donna Smith and Thomas Ferraro; editing by Anthony Boadle)
AP Science Writer ? Michael Jackson's personal doctor received the maximum punishment in the pop singer's death but not before a scolding from the judge for violating his Hippocratic oath and engaging in "money-for-medicine madness."
Despite Judge Michael Pastor's sharp rebuke of Dr. Conrad Murray, medical ethics and legal experts say the outcome is unlikely to dramatically change the culture of celebrity medicine.
There are doctors who will apply the same standard of care to their high-profile patients as the non-famous. Those starstruck will be more likely to cave to patients' demands, overlook their bad habits and operate out of bounds.
"These doctors are ego-crazed and money dependent," said Dr. Steven Miles of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
Miles said it's dangerous when a doctor enters into an exclusive relationship with a patient especially if the person is rich and famous.
"It's the kind of environment where the normal checks and balances are very difficult to apply," he said.
Jackson's death and other recent celebrity drug-related deaths have raised questions about how far some doctors will go to cater to their clients.
Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a month-long trial. On Tuesday, he was handed the maximum four years behind bars. He will likely only serve two years in county jail because of a recent change in state law.
Jackson died in 2009 from an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol. Murray told police he gave the drug nightly to help the singer cope with insomnia as he attempted a comeback tour. Propofol is not approved as a sleep aid and is supposed to be used in the hospital by a trained professional.
Medical experts testifying for the prosecution painted Murray as reckless and said he should have never given Jackson propofol to help him sleep despite the singer's urging.
During the sentencing, Pastor called Murray's treatment of Jackson a "disgrace to the medical profession." He lambasted the doctor for violating "his sworn obligation for money, fame, prestige and whatever else."
Pace University law professor Linda Fentiman said the case will not scare away doctors from taking in celebrity patients. But it may give doctors some leverage with patients who insist on getting their way.
"I'm not sure celebrities can be deterred from trying to get what they want, but a doctor might be able to resist their pleas by saying, `I don't want to end up like Conrad Murray,'" she said.
BOSTON?? Step into the sanctuary of the African Meeting House and you will walk on the same ancient floorboards where Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison and other prominent abolitionists railed against slavery in the 19th century, and where free black men gathered to shape the famed 54th Massachusetts Civil War regiment.
Following a painstaking, $9 million restoration, the nation's oldest black church building is set to reopen to the public early next month. Beverly Morgan-Welch, who has spent more than a decade spearheading the project, calls the three-story brick building the nation's most important African American historic landmark.
"This space has the echo of so many of the greats of their time ... who were trying to figure out a way to end slavery," said Morgan-Welch, executive director of the Museum of African American History.
Built in 1806 at a cost of $7,700, the meeting house sits on a quiet side street in Boston's upscale Beacon Hill neighborhood, in the shadow of the Massachusetts Statehouse and nestled among handsome brownstones and exclusive private residences.
Long before modern office towers would hold sway, the building could be seen all the way from the city's bustling waterfront, a "beacon on a hill" for black people longing for freedom, Morgan-Welch said.
It was one among a series of firsts for Boston's vibrant black community, which by that time had already formed the young nation's first black masonic order, an African Benevolent Society and an African school. Though designed as a place for worship, education, social gatherings and cultural events ? "The Marriage of Figaro" was once performed there ? it secured a place in history by becoming a headquarters of sorts for America's anti-slavery movement.
"They prayed, they sang, they had songs like 'I'm an abolitionist' put to the words of 'Auld Lang Syne,'" said Morgan-Welch, who described congregants as coming from every walk of life, including business owners, craftsmen, servants and seafarers.
Garrison formed the New England Anti-Slavery Society in the basement of the building in 1832.
"We have met to-night in this obscure school-house; our numbers are few and our influence limited; but, mark my prediction, Faneuil Hall shall ere long echo with the principles we have set forth. We shall shake the nation by their mighty power," Garrison said, according to the historical record. The words are among those inscribed on a granite plaque outside the building.
Faneuil Hall, a short stroll from the meeting house, played a key role in the buildup to the Revolutionary War.
Douglass, who escaped from slavery to become a leading abolitionist, made one of several visits to Boston on Dec. 3, 1860. Historical records reveal a gathering at which he encouraged participants to present ideas for "the best way of prosecuting the anti-slavery movement," listing both war and peace as possible avenues.
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As war approached, the sense of urgency within the meeting house heightened.
Rallies were held to urge blacks to sign up for the 54th and 55th black regiments that would go on to fight in the Civil War. Volunteers came not only from Boston but from places as far as Canada and Haiti, Morgan-Welch said.
"They are preparing for war, they are preparing for what they know will come, they are extremely well organized," she said.
The story of the 54th regiment was chronicled in the film "Glory."
The building faded in prominence after the Civil War and was sold in the late 19th century. It would spend the next seven decades of its existence as a Jewish synagogue before being purchased by the museum in 1972.
Though named a national historic landmark in 1974, it would not be until 2006 that full-scale restoration would begin. The goal was to restore the meeting house to as close to its mid-19th century character as physically possible. No detail was overlooked, down to the square-headed nails typical of the time to replicating the original paint.
"They had people come in and do microscopic analysis of the all the paint layers," said Carl Jay, director of historic preservation for lead contractor Shawmut Design and Construction. The goal was to identify the original color and composition of the paint, a process he likened to looking at growth layers in a tree.
Engineers and architects also faced the challenge of operating in a confined space in the densely-populated residential area, he said. In addition to restoring the original structure, a new wing was constructed to house elevators and other modern amenities.
The original floorboards in the sanctuary date back even further than the 205-year-old building, having already been in use for 70 years at Boston's Old West Church before being moved to the meeting house when the church was relocated. Jay attributes the durability of the floorboards to the density of the wood used during the period.
The sanctuary's curved pews are recreations of the originals, based on sketches from the time but enlarged to accommodate average modern day heights and weights. No rendering could be found of the pulpit, so it replicates others from the time.
The restoration was boosted by $4.1 million in federal stimulus funds. Morgan-Welch said other funding came from a variety of sources, including the National Park Service, the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and private corporations.
Next month's grand reopening will be the emotional culmination of years of effort by Morgan-Welch, who recounts bursting into tears the first time she viewed into the completely restored sanctuary.
"Frederick Douglass walked here," she says, slowly and almost reverently. Seated in the balcony, reachable by the same spiral staircase that congregants would have climbed two centuries ago, she reflects on what she hopes visitors will take away from the building.
"I would like them to understand that black people in America by 1806 had built for themselves a mighty, elegant and embracing space in which to worship, to educate, and to end slavery," she said.
If You Go...
AFRICAN MEETING HOUSE: 46 Joy St., Beacon Hill, Boston; http://www.maah.org/afmbeaconhill.htm or 617-725-0022. Public grand reopening, Dec. 9-10, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., with guided tours on the hour beginning at 11 a.m. Regular hours will be Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., with tours at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Adults, $5; children 12 and under, free; seniors 62 and over and teens 13-17, $3.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Ever wonder what a jetpack is good for, besides fulfilling dreams and fighting Nazis? Well, Martin wants you to know there are, in fact, practical applications for its $86,000 personal propulsion system. According to the aviation company everyone from emergency responders to search and rescue teams to military personnel could find a place for the dual-engine craft in their arsenal of tools. Sure, we could see how their ability to get in and out where the size of a helicopter or plane might be prohibitive would prove handy, but their high cost and limited carrying capacity make them a tough sell. That doesn't mean we don't enjoy seeing the (poorly) rendered vision of our future filled with jetpacks in the video after the break. Come to think of it, we could see this coming in handy for our CES coverage... excuse us, we need to make some phone calls.
Body rebuilding: Researchers regenerate muscle in micePublic release date: 29-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Michael Cohen mcohen@wpi.edu 508-868-4778 Worcester Polytechnic Institute
A team of scientists from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and CellThera, a private company, have regenerated functional muscle tissue in mice, opening the door for a new clinical therapy to treat people who suffer major muscle trauma
WORCESTER, Mass. A team of scientists from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and CellThera, a private company located in WPI's Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center, have regenerated functional muscle tissue in mice, opening the door for a new clinical therapy to treat people who suffer major muscle trauma.
The team used a novel protocol to coax mature human muscle cells into a stem cell-like state and grew those reprogrammed cells on biopolymer microthreads. The threads were placed in a wound created by surgically removing a large section of leg muscle from a mouse. Over time, the threads and cells restored near-normal function to the muscle, as reported in the paper "Restoration of Skeletal Muscle Defects with Adult Human Cells Delivered on Fibrin Microthreads," published in the current issue of the journal Tissue Engineering. Surprisingly, the microthreads, which were used simply as a scaffold to support the reprogrammed human cells, actually seemed to accelerate the regeneration process by recruiting progenitor mouse muscle cells, suggesting that they alone could become a therapeutic tool for treating major muscle trauma.
"We are pleased with the progress of this work, and frankly we were surprised by the level of muscle regeneration that was achieved," said Raymond Page, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at WPI, chief scientific officer at CellThera, and corresponding author on the paper.
The current study is part of a multi-year program funded, in part, by grants from the National Institutes of Health and DARPA, the advanced research program of the U.S Department of Defense, to support the development of new technologies and therapies for people who suffer serious wounds and limb loss.
Mammalian skeletal muscles are able to repair small injuries caused by excessive exertion or minor trauma by recruiting muscle progenitor cells, which have not fully developed into muscle fibers, to the site of injury to rebuild the muscle. With major injuries, however, the body's first priority is to stop the bleeding, so scar tissue forms quickly at the wound site and overrides any muscle repair.
In the current study, the WPI/CellThera team combined two novel technologies to try to prevent scar formation and prompt muscle re-growth. The first was a method they had developed previously for reprogramming mature human skin cells without employing viruses or extra genes (Cloning, Stem Cells. 2009 Jul 21). The reprogrammed cells express stem cell genes and multiply in great numbers, but don't differentiate into specific tissues. The second was the use of biopolymer microthreads as a scaffold to support the cells. Developed by George Pins, associate professor of biomedical engineering at WPI, the threads--about the thickness of a human hair--are made of fibrin, a protein that helps blood clot.
Researchers removed a portion of the tibialis anterior leg muscle in several mice (the muscle was chosen because injury to it affects the foot's range of motion but doesn't prevent the mice from walking). In some mice, the injuries were left to heal on their own. In others, the wound was filled with bundles of microthreads seeded with reprogrammed human muscle cells. The untreated mice developed significant scarring at the injury site, with no restoration of muscle function. In sharp contrast, the mice that received the reprogrammed cells grew new muscle fibers and developed very little scarring.
Tests done 10 weeks after implantation showed that the regenerated tibialis anterior muscle functioned with nearly as much strength as an uninjured muscle. The scientists expected that most of the regenerated muscle would be composed of human cells, since the implanted cells were from human muscle. Surprisingly, most of the new muscle fibers were made of mouse cells. The team theorized that the fibrin microthreads, which in their composition and shape are similar to muscle fibers, may encourage resident mouse progenitor cells to migrate into the wound and begin restoring the tissue (they may also forestall the natural inflammatory response that leads to scarring after a major injury).
This surprise finding suggests that fibrin microthreads alone could be used to treat major muscle trauma while research on enhancing regeneration with reprogrammed human cells continues. "The contribution of the fibrin microthreads alone to wound healing should not be understated," the authors wrote. "While this clearly points to room for improving cell delivery techniques, it suggests that fibrin microthreads alone have tremendous potential for reducing fibrosis and remodeling large muscle injuries. Future studies will address, more completely, the capability of microthreads alone and determine, at what point, a combinational cell therapy is required for full functional tissue restoration."
###
About Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI was one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees. WPI's world-class faculty work with students in a number of cutting-edge research areas, leading to breakthroughs and innovations in such fields as biotechnology, fuel cells, information security, materials processing, and nanotechnology. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Perspective Program. There are more than 25 WPI project centers throughout North America and Central America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe.
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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.
Body rebuilding: Researchers regenerate muscle in micePublic release date: 29-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Michael Cohen mcohen@wpi.edu 508-868-4778 Worcester Polytechnic Institute
A team of scientists from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and CellThera, a private company, have regenerated functional muscle tissue in mice, opening the door for a new clinical therapy to treat people who suffer major muscle trauma
WORCESTER, Mass. A team of scientists from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and CellThera, a private company located in WPI's Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center, have regenerated functional muscle tissue in mice, opening the door for a new clinical therapy to treat people who suffer major muscle trauma.
The team used a novel protocol to coax mature human muscle cells into a stem cell-like state and grew those reprogrammed cells on biopolymer microthreads. The threads were placed in a wound created by surgically removing a large section of leg muscle from a mouse. Over time, the threads and cells restored near-normal function to the muscle, as reported in the paper "Restoration of Skeletal Muscle Defects with Adult Human Cells Delivered on Fibrin Microthreads," published in the current issue of the journal Tissue Engineering. Surprisingly, the microthreads, which were used simply as a scaffold to support the reprogrammed human cells, actually seemed to accelerate the regeneration process by recruiting progenitor mouse muscle cells, suggesting that they alone could become a therapeutic tool for treating major muscle trauma.
"We are pleased with the progress of this work, and frankly we were surprised by the level of muscle regeneration that was achieved," said Raymond Page, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at WPI, chief scientific officer at CellThera, and corresponding author on the paper.
The current study is part of a multi-year program funded, in part, by grants from the National Institutes of Health and DARPA, the advanced research program of the U.S Department of Defense, to support the development of new technologies and therapies for people who suffer serious wounds and limb loss.
Mammalian skeletal muscles are able to repair small injuries caused by excessive exertion or minor trauma by recruiting muscle progenitor cells, which have not fully developed into muscle fibers, to the site of injury to rebuild the muscle. With major injuries, however, the body's first priority is to stop the bleeding, so scar tissue forms quickly at the wound site and overrides any muscle repair.
In the current study, the WPI/CellThera team combined two novel technologies to try to prevent scar formation and prompt muscle re-growth. The first was a method they had developed previously for reprogramming mature human skin cells without employing viruses or extra genes (Cloning, Stem Cells. 2009 Jul 21). The reprogrammed cells express stem cell genes and multiply in great numbers, but don't differentiate into specific tissues. The second was the use of biopolymer microthreads as a scaffold to support the cells. Developed by George Pins, associate professor of biomedical engineering at WPI, the threads--about the thickness of a human hair--are made of fibrin, a protein that helps blood clot.
Researchers removed a portion of the tibialis anterior leg muscle in several mice (the muscle was chosen because injury to it affects the foot's range of motion but doesn't prevent the mice from walking). In some mice, the injuries were left to heal on their own. In others, the wound was filled with bundles of microthreads seeded with reprogrammed human muscle cells. The untreated mice developed significant scarring at the injury site, with no restoration of muscle function. In sharp contrast, the mice that received the reprogrammed cells grew new muscle fibers and developed very little scarring.
Tests done 10 weeks after implantation showed that the regenerated tibialis anterior muscle functioned with nearly as much strength as an uninjured muscle. The scientists expected that most of the regenerated muscle would be composed of human cells, since the implanted cells were from human muscle. Surprisingly, most of the new muscle fibers were made of mouse cells. The team theorized that the fibrin microthreads, which in their composition and shape are similar to muscle fibers, may encourage resident mouse progenitor cells to migrate into the wound and begin restoring the tissue (they may also forestall the natural inflammatory response that leads to scarring after a major injury).
This surprise finding suggests that fibrin microthreads alone could be used to treat major muscle trauma while research on enhancing regeneration with reprogrammed human cells continues. "The contribution of the fibrin microthreads alone to wound healing should not be understated," the authors wrote. "While this clearly points to room for improving cell delivery techniques, it suggests that fibrin microthreads alone have tremendous potential for reducing fibrosis and remodeling large muscle injuries. Future studies will address, more completely, the capability of microthreads alone and determine, at what point, a combinational cell therapy is required for full functional tissue restoration."
###
About Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI was one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees. WPI's world-class faculty work with students in a number of cutting-edge research areas, leading to breakthroughs and innovations in such fields as biotechnology, fuel cells, information security, materials processing, and nanotechnology. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Perspective Program. There are more than 25 WPI project centers throughout North America and Central America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe.
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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.
LONDON ? Airlines say they are canceling some flights in and out of London's Heathrow Airport ahead of a nationwide public sector strike on Wednesday.
Heathrow's owner, BAA, warned last week of possible 12-hour delays moving through immigration because the strike is expected to cripple the U.K. border agency. It has asked airlines to fly half-full planes into Heathrow during the strike.
Middle East carrier Etihad Airways says it has canceled two flights from Abu Dhabi and one flight from Heathrow to Abu Dhabi to spare customers any disruptions.
Greece's Aegean Airlines said it canceled one Heathrow to Athens flight and one from Athens to Heathrow because airport authorities warned of "potentially huge problems with delays."
Because of its 7-inch display screen, the Dell Streak 7 is probably the smallest tablet computers on the market. Many people may find this a disadvantage, but its size provides it with supreme mobility. Additionally, it has some fantastic specifications such as highly effective processor chip, 4G, and also to top it all off it features a comparatively low cost. How exactly does it compare with other Google android tablet computers out there? Positive points about the Dell Streak 7 [...]
NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Lending some credence to the old maxim that there's no such thing as bad publicity, the infamous musical "Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark" has broken house records on the eve of its first anniversary on Broadway.
The $70 million show, which was plagued by a series of stunt-related cast injuries in its early days, not to mention a record-length preview period which eventually brought director Julie Taymor's ouster, broke the Foxwood Theatre's house record last week, grossing $2.07 million at the box office.
Despite its troubled history -- or perhaps in part because of the media attention paid to it -- the show, which began previews on November 28, 2010, has consistently played to packed houses.
Since its June opening, which drew fairly scathing reviews even after a post-Taymor overhaul, more than 600,000 people have filled seats at the cavernous 42nd St. theater.
"We were staunchly committed to getting this show open and to doing whatever we could so that 'Spider-man' would be in New York City for this year and those to come," producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah Harris said in a statement, adding they were thrilled with "the incredible response from our fantastic audiences at each and every performance."
Taymor, who won a Tony award for the still-running hit "The Lion King," spent years working on "Spider-man." Earlier this month, she sued the show's producers in federal court accusing them of copyright infringement and breach of contract. Her lawyers claim "unauthorized and unlawful use of Taymor's copyrighted written works" by the producers of "Spider-Man."
"Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark", with music by U2's Bono and The Edge, closed for three weeks in April for a major revamp by a new director and officially opened in June.
(Corrects headline and 1st paragraph to 1-year on Broadway)
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) ? Pakistan's military denied reports that NATO forces in Afghanistan came under fire before launching a cross-border attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers over the weekend.
"This is not true. They are making up excuses. What are their losses, casualties?" army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said in a mobile phone text message on Monday.
Tensions are running high at a time when deep cooperation is needed between the NATO mission and Pakistan to stabilise Afghanistan as the United States tries to wind up the war there.
NATO described the killings as a "tragic, unintended incident" and said an investigation was underway. A Western official and an Afghan security official who requested anonymity said NATO troops were responding to fire from across the border.
Pakistan's military said the strike was unprovoked and has reserved the right to retaliate.
It's possible both explanations are correct: that a retaliatory attack by NATO troops took a tragic, mistaken turn in harsh terrain where differentiating friend from foe can be difficult.
After a string of deadly incidents in the lawless and confusing border region, NATO and Pakistan set up a hotline that should allow them to communicate in case of confusion over potential targets, or if they believe they are coming under fire from friendly forces.
It is not clear if the hotline was used, either before or after the strike that killed the Pakistani soldiers.
The attack was the latest perceived provocation by the United States, which infuriated Pakistan's powerful military in May with a unilateral special forces raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Washington had been trying to repair ties badly damaged by the bin Laden affair and several other issues -- including accusations that Pakistan's military spy agency was backing militants who bomb American targets in Kabul.
Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Islamabad and held a town hall meeting to try and win over Pakistanis, held talks with her counterpart and called on all sides to work for peace in Afghanistan.
Any goodwill secured from the trip probably evaporated after the NATO strike, which fuelled a wave of anti-American sentiment in Pakistan.
Aside from growing anger on the street, newspaper editorials are filled with sharp criticism of the United States and NATO.
"This is time for U.S./NATO/ISAF (International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan) forces to understand the dark side of wanting to go it alone and think about accepting Pakistani offers for enhanced coordination," said The News.
BEFITTING RESPONSE
The mass-circulation Urdu language press went further.
"We have to send a clear and unequivocal message to NATO and America that our patience has run out. If even a single bullet of foreign forces crosses into our border, then two fires will be shot in retaliation," said Jang newspaper.
"God forbid in future if something like this happened then our armed forces have to give a befitting response."
The NATO strike has shifted attention away from what critics say is Pakistan's failure to go after militants who cross the border to attack U.S.-led NATO and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistan vowed to back the U.S. global war on militancy launched after al Qaeda's September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, and won billions of dollars in aid in return.
But the unstable, nuclear-armed country has often been described as an unreliable ally, and the United States has had to resort to controversial drone aircraft strikes against militants on Pakistani territory to pursue its aims.
U.S. frustrations grew so much that President Barack Obama ordered that the raid that killed bin Laden deep inside Pakistan be kept secret, knowing it could make the United States even more unpopular in Pakistan.
Pakistan shut down NATO supply routes into Afghanistan in retaliation for the weekend shooting incident, the worst of its kind since Islamabad uneasily allied itself with Washington in 2001.
Pakistan is the route for nearly half of NATO supplies shipped overland to its troops in Afghanistan. Land shipments account for about two thirds of the alliance's cargo.
A similar incident on Sept 30, 2010, which killed two Pakistani service personnel, led to the closure of one of NATO's supply routes through Pakistan for 10 days.
Few believe the strategic alliance between Pakistan and the United States will break, even though the aggrieved military -- the South Asian nation's most powerful institution -- may now feel it needs to assert itself.
Both sides are likely to opt for damage control and then confidence-building measures -- the usual pattern in a frequently troubled relationship.
(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
PESHAWAR, Pakistan ? Pakistan on Saturday accused NATO helicopters of firing on two army checkpoints in the northwest and killing 25 soldiers, then retaliated by closing a key border crossing used by the coalition to supply its troops in neighboring Afghanistan.
The incident Friday night was a major blow to already strained relations between Islamabad and U.S.-led forces fighting in Afghanistan. It will add to perceptions in Pakistan that the American presence in the region is malevolent, and to resentment toward the weak government in Islamabad for co-operating with Washington.
It comes a little over a year after a similar but less deadly incident, in which U.S. helicopters accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border, whom the pilots mistook for insurgents. Pakistan responded by closing the Torkham border crossing to NATO supplies ? as it did Saturday ? for 10 days until the U.S. apologized.
In a statement sent to reporters, the Pakistan military blamed NATO for Friday's attack in the Mohmand tribal area, saying the helicopters "carried out unprovoked and indiscriminate firing."
NATO officials in Kabul said Saturday morning that they were aware of the reports, and would release more information after they were able to gather more facts about what happened.
Much of the violence in Afghanistan against Afghan, NATO and U.S. troops is carried out by insurgents that are based just across the border in Pakistan. Coalition forces are not allowed to cross the frontier to attack the militants, which sometimes fire artillery and rockets across the line.
American officials have repeatedly accused Pakistani forces of supporting ? or turning a blind eye ? to militants using its territory for cross-border attacks. The border issue is the major source of tension between Islamabad and Washington, which wants to stabilize Afghanistan and withdraw its combat troops there by the end of 2014.
The border is disputed in many areas and not clearly marked, adding to the difficulties faced by the different militaries in controlling it.
Pakistan state TV said the helicopters killed 25 Pakistani soldiers in the incident. Two government officials in Mohmand confirmed the death toll and said 14 other soldiers were wounded.
The helicopters attacked two checkpoints around 1,000 feet apart from each other, one of them twice, and two officers were among the dead, said a government official in Mohmand and a security official in Peshawar, the main city in Pakistan's northwest.
The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Ties between Washington and Islamabad had already taken an especially hard hit from the covert U.S. commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town on May 2. The Pakistanis were outraged that they were not told about the operation beforehand, and now are angered even more than before by U.S. violations of the country's sovereignty.
In a statement, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the alleged NATO attack, and said government was taking it up "in the strongest terms with NATO and the U.S.
A Pakistani customs official told The Associated Press that he received verbal orders Saturday to stop all NATO supplies from crossing the border through Torkham in either direction. A transporter who runs a terminal at the border where NATO trucks park before they cross confirmed the closure. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Torkham runs through the famed Khyber Pass and is the main crossing to Afghanistan from Pakistan, the country through which NATO ships about 30 percent of the non-lethal supplies used by its Afghan-based forces. A short stoppage will have no effect on the war effort, but it is a reminder of the leverage Pakistan has over the United States from the supply routes to landlocked Afghanistan running through its territory.
The incident is also a reminder of the extreme volatility of the border.
The checkpoint that was attacked had been recently set up in Mohmand's Salala village by the army to stop Pakistani Taliban militants holed up in Afghanistan from crossing the border and staging attacks, said two local government administrators, Maqsood Hasan and Hamid Khan.
The Pakistani military has blamed Pakistani Taliban militants and their allies for killing dozens of security forces in such cross-border attacks since the summer. Pakistan has criticized Afghan and foreign forces for not doing enough to stop the attacks, which it says have originated from the eastern Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan. The U.S. has largely pulled out of these provinces, leaving the militants in effective control of many areas along the border.
The Afghan government blamed Pakistan for firing hundreds of rockets into eastern Afghanistan earlier this year that killed dozens of people. The Pakistan army has denied it intentionally fired rockets into Afghanistan, but acknowledged that several rounds fired at militants conducting cross-border attacks may have landed over the border.
The Afghan and Pakistani Taliban are allies but have largely focused their attacks on opposite sides of the border. The Afghan Taliban aims to topple the U.S.-allied government in Kabul, and the Pakistani Taliban has tried to do the same in Islamabad.
The U.S. helicopter attack that killed two Pakistani soldiers on Sept. 30 of last year took place south of Mohmand in the Kurram tribal area. A joint U.S.-Pakistan investigation found that Pakistani soldiers fired at the two U.S. helicopters prior to the attack, a move the investigation team said was likely meant to notify the aircraft of their presence after they passed into Pakistani airspace several times.
Pakistan moved swiftly after the attack to close Torkham to NATO. Suspected militants took advantage of the impasse to launch attacks against stranded or rerouted trucks carrying NATO supplies.
Senior U.S. diplomatic and military officials eventually apologized for the attack, saying it could have been prevented with greater coordination between the U.S. and Pakistan. Pakistan responded by reopening the border crossing.
____
Abbot reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Anwarullah Khan contributed to this report from Khar, Pakistan.
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Public release date: 29-Nov-2011
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