New York ? Reporter Ryan Lizza is out with a "monster" 11,000-word investigation into hundreds of pages of secret White House memos. A look at the highlights
When Barack Obama entered the White House in 2009, he really believed that bipartisanship was viable in Washington, that he could overcome 40 years of increasingly bitter division between Republicans and Democrats, and that American politics is played "between the 40-yard lines," says Ryan Lizza in?The New Yorker. Now, Lizza's review of hundreds of previously unreleased internal White House documents details Obama's rude awakening, and how he gave up his audacious hopes of transforming Washington in favor of getting things done as a "post-post-partisan" president. Here, five takeaways from Lizza's "monster" 11,000-word look at "the Obama memos":
1. The stimulus was too small ? by design Lizza's big score is a December 2008 memo from Larry Summers and Obama's other top economic advisers, says Ezra Klein at?The Washington Post. The 57-page memo (which Lizza posted in full) "contains the economic team's first thoughts on almost everything the White House would go on to do," from the $787 billion stimulus package to health care reform. The memo acknowledged that the economy faced a $2 trillion hole, but suggested a stimulus no larger than $890 billion. That's because the government could only manage "about $225 billion of actual spending on priority investments" in the short term; less-stimulative components like tax cuts and aid to states offered diminishing returns; "an excessive recovery package could spook markets or the public and be counterproductive"; and Obama could ask Congress for more stimulus later if needed. They really got that last bit wrong, and grossly underestimated the depth of the financial crisis, says Derek Thompson at?The Atlantic. But there's still "quite a lot that Summers and his team got right" in their "rich and complicated report."
SEE MORE: Obama's recess appointments: Unconstitutional?
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2. Obama wanted a "moon shot" in the stimulus After reading Summers' memo, Obama didn't push for a $1 trillion stimulus. But he still wanted something "bold and iconic" in the package, says Lizza: An "inspiring 'moon shot' initiative, such as building a national 'smart grid.'" Obama's economic team shot the idea down, arguing that large initiatives were too expensive and too long-term to jolt the economy. Instead, Obama requested $20 billion for high-speed trains. Two years later after Obama gave up on his "metaphorical moon-shot idea," he agreed to cut his predecessor's NASA Constellation project, designed to return astronauts to the moon, and America's "actual moon-shot program was dead, too."
3. He really, really wanted GOP support for health care reform When Obama arrived in Washington, his idea of forming a centrist coalition didn't seem far-fetched ? "after all, the pillars of his agenda seemed to enjoy bipartisan support," says Lizza. His health care reform plan, for example, "had been designed and employed by a Republican governor, Mitt Romney." The memos show Obama so gung-ho "to secure Republican cooperation and support" that he backed GOP-favored ideas like tort reform and scrapped good "initiatives like the public option, end-of-life counseling, and a host of other provisions that Republicans found repugnant," says Igor Volsky at?ThinkProgress. He learned too late that Republicans would oppose any idea to keep Obama from scoring a big win.
SEE MORE: It's time for Eric Holder to resign
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4. The White House pivoted to austerity out of political consideration By late 2009, after a year of Tea Party agitation and slipping polls, Obama's political team urged him to start talking up a "new era of responsibility." They advised that his upcoming State of the Union address was "an opportune moment to pivot to themes of restraining government spending." After the bank bailout, auto bailout, and stimulus, Obama's political team thought it "better to channel the anti-government winds than to fight them." So Obama froze non-defense federal spending and formed a presidential deficit-reduction commission, "learning the same lesson of many previous occupants of the Oval Office: He didn't have the power that one might think he had," says Lizza.
5. Obama is wary of the right-wing media The president rejected at least one idea ? paying federal employees to participate in a pilot program to study the most effective health care treatments ? because it "could prove a target for Fox News," says ThinkProgress' Volsky. Obama liked the low-cost, high-reward idea, but was swayed by his political advisers, whose argument was summarized in a memo from Obama's secretary: The plan "is not politically viable," in part because "it could easily be caricatured by the right-wing press." In an almost apologetic memo to the plan's authors, Obama wrote, "Unfortunately I think the political guys are right about how it would be characterized. Let's go back at it in future years, when the temperature on health care and the economy has gone down."
SEE MORE: William Daley's resignation: Will it help Obama?
?
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This undated photo taken at an unknown location and released by the Danish Refugee Council on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 shows American Jessica Buchanan from the Danish Refugee Council's de-mining unit. U.S. military forces helicoptered into Somalia in a nighttime raid Wednesday and freed two hostages, American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, while killing nine pirates, officials and a pirate source said. (AP Photo/Danish Refugee Council)
This undated photo taken at an unknown location and released by the Danish Refugee Council on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 shows American Jessica Buchanan from the Danish Refugee Council's de-mining unit. U.S. military forces helicoptered into Somalia in a nighttime raid Wednesday and freed two hostages, American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, while killing nine pirates, officials and a pirate source said. (AP Photo/Danish Refugee Council)
This undated photo taken at an unknown location and released by the Danish Refugee Council on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 shows Dane Poul Hagen Thisted from the Danish Refugee Council's de-mining unit. U.S. military forces helicoptered into Somalia in a nighttime raid Wednesday and freed two hostages, American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, while killing nine pirates, officials and a pirate source said. (AP Photo/Danish Refugee Council)
Map locates area around the town of Adado, Somalia, where two hostages were rescued during a helicopter raid.
President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, as Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner, right, listne. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? "Good job tonight," President Barack Obama told his defense chief as he arrived for his annual State of the Union message.
Unknown to a global television audience watching Tuesday night's speech moments later, a hostage rescue operation had just played out half a world away with an elite Navy SEAL team's rescue of two hostages in Somalia, one of them an American. It was the same SEAL unit that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, a U.S. official said Wednesday.
Publicly, Obama did not mention the raid during his speech, though microphones picked up his congratulation to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as he entered the House chamber.
Obama had learned shortly before that the operation to rescue American aid worker Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted of Denmark had been successful. Immediately after the speech, Obama returned to the White House to inform Buchanan's father that she was safe and "on her way home," according to a White House statement.
It was a dramatic bookend to the pomp and ceremony of one of Washington's most elaborate rituals ? the State of the Union address. During his speech, the president did refer to another successful military operation ? the May 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden by Navy SEAL Team 6.
The hostage rescue in Somalia was carried out by the same SEAL unit behind the bin Laden operation, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the operation. The unit is the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, also known as SEAL Team 6. The members of the unit who carried out the rescue operation were not the same as those who killed bin Laden, the U.S. official said.
In a predawn White House statement, Obama praised U.S. Special Operations Forces who rescued Buchanan and Thisted, who had been kidnapped at gunpoint by Somali pirates in October.
"As Commander-in-Chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts," Obama said in a statement.
U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the top secret operation, said the SEAL team parachuted into the area and got to the rescue site on foot.
Obama was briefed on developments throughout the day, the White House said.
Panetta, in a separate statement, said Buchanan and Hagen Thisted "have been transported to a safe location where we will evaluate their health and make arrangements for them to return home." He said the two hostages were not harmed during the operation, and no U.S. troops were killed or injured.
"This was a team effort and required close coordination, especially between the Department of Defense and our colleagues in the Federal Bureau of Investigation," Panetta said.
On NBC's "Today," Vice President Joe Biden said the U.S. decided to move after determining that Buchanan's health "was beginning to decline."
"We wanted to act," Biden said.
Obama approved the mission Monday. On Tuesday, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, gave the president half a dozen updates on the rescue operation.
About two hours before Obama was scheduled to begin delivering his State of the Union address, Brennan told him Buchanan and Thisted were safe and in U.S. hands.
After delivering his address, Obama called Buchanan's father. In his statement Wednesday, Obama said he told John Buchanan "that all Americans have Jessica in our thoughts and prayers, and give thanks that she will soon be reunited with her family."
"The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice," Obama said. "This is yet another message to the world that the United States of America will stand strongly against any threats to our people."
Biden had high praise for the special forces. "It takes your breath away, their capacity and their bravery," he said on ABC's "Good Morning America." ''These guys and women are amazing."
___
Associated Press writers Julie Pace and Robert Burns contributed to this report.
By Ken Y-N ( January 23, 2012 at 00:03)
? Filed under Polls, Rankings
For such a bold title, this survey from goo Ranking into what embarrassing experiences made people wish a hole would come and swallow them up produced, on the whole, rather tame answers.
Demographics
Over the 25th and 26th of November 2011 1,074 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 57.4% of the sample were female, 11.6% in their teens, 14.7% in their twenties, 26.9% in their thirties, 25.0% in their forties, 11.1% in their fifties, and 10.7% aged sixty or older. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.
I quite regularly talk to myself in the office and the corridors, but I either don?t care or just do a cough to cover it up. I often snore and sometimes drool on trains, but what the heck, I?m asleep so I don?t care!
Ranking result
Q: When did you wish a hole would come and swallow you up? (Sample size=1,074)
Rank
?
Score
1
When I realised my fly, other fastener was open
100
2=
When I tripped over my own two feet
87.5
2=
When I called out to who I thought was a friend but it turned out to be a complete stranger
87.5
4=
When I sent mail to the wrong address
71.4
4=
When someone in front of me waved to someone behind me but I waved back
71.4
6
When I walked into a glass door
55.6
7
When I drooled while sleeping on the train
50.4
8
When I had seaweed flakes stuck on my teeth
49.6
9
When I had to speak in front of a large group but got stage fright
41.1
10
When I smugly but wrongly read a word in kanji
35.5
11
When I called a boss, teacher ?Mum?
31.0
12
When I spoke to myself in a loud voice
30.6
13
When I talked about someone at length, but realised I had their name wrong
28.2
14
When I went out with the price tag still attached to my clothes
27.8
15
When I wore a no-sleeve top but forgot to shave my armpits
24.2
16
When I left the toilet with paper stuck to my clothes
22.2
17
When I did a smelly fart in a packed train
20.6
18
When I got onto a crowded lift and the overloaded alarm sounded
14.9
19
When I grabbed onto the strap in the train but I had an underarm sweat stain
14.5
20
When someone took my photo and could see my underwear
14.1
Read more on: embarrass,goo ranking
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Betcha didn't see that coming, huh? Episode two of the hot new MuchMusic (and soon-to-be The CW) show the "The L.A. Complex" ended with aspiring hip-hop artist Tariq (Benjamin Charles Watson) locking lips with his tough-as-nails hip-hop mentor/boss, King (Andra Fuller). It's the first time a TV show has explored the taboo topic of being gay in the hip-hop world, and it's already provoked quite the reaction from fans.
The Huffington Post caught up with Watson to find out what it's been like as a young actor tackling such a controversial character, chatting about everything from filming the nerve-wracking scene with Fuller to how he feels about his new life as an accidental role model.
You had a pretty major scene at the end of last week's episode! What kind of reaction have you been getting so far?
The second it ended I was getting tweets and Facebook messages with people saying, "Omigod! What just happened? I never saw that coming!" It was completely out of left field for a lot of people. It was the perfect response I was hoping to get. Everyone's dying to know what's going to happen in episode three.
What was it like filming that scene?
It was nerve-wracking because Andra and I knew it was coming, and it was one of the last scenes of the day. Plus there are so many people around us! We had two choices -- we could run away and hide or jump right in and fulfill the needs of these characters. So we jumped right in!
Offhand, I can't even think of an openly gay man in the rap or hip-hop worlds, so in that sense your characters are pretty groundbreaking...
It's controversial and it's amazing at the same time. There have already been a lot of comments on the 'net, and a lot of people are already turned off by it because it's not done in the hip-hop world by two black guys. It's just not done. I feel a lot of pressure -- good pressure and bad pressure. It's a story that has to be told and has to be told right. I can't think about the negative part, I just have to fulfill the story of Tariq.
How did your family react?
I'm black Jamaican, so it was a little controversial! There were a lot of people who were like "Awesome!" but there were some people who were turned off by it. They reacted a lot better than I thought they would have, let's put it that way. It shocked a lot of people, but what can I do?
Can you give some hints about what will happen in future episodes? Will this affair stay a secret?
I can guarantee you there are a ton of people on the down-low in the hip-hop world. We're not the type of show that's going to be like, 'Cool, we're going to tell the hip-hop world that it's time to come out!' and all of that stuff. It's going to be true to life, so it has to be a relationship on the DL. We can't just come out and be like, "cool, we're in the hip-hop world, we're proud, we're gay." As much as we'd like to do that, it's just not realistic. So yeah, it's going to be a relationship on the DL. And... things happen! A lot of things happen. These next four episodes are ridiculously amazing, so a lot of people are going to be stunned by what happens.
I'm dying of curiosity because HuffPost interviewed [co-creator] Martin Gero a couple of weeks ago, and he said that all of the characters are based on real people. Do you know who Tariq is based on? You don't have to name names, I'm just wondering if you know!
I don't know! I would love to say, "yeah, I know exactly who Tariq is," but I don't know! I have no idea. I would love to get into Martin's head!
Do you feel a sense of responsibility that comes along with this? Are you prepared to be a role model of sorts?
A lot of people have asked me that. I knew that in taking on a role like this, it was going to come with the territory. This is one of the last characters that they cast in the series. I knew that it would be a very tough role to cast, especially being a black guy whose character is gay on the show and in hip-hop -- it's a lot for someone to take on. A lot of people aren't going to be comfortable portraying this role on television. I want to help people. Hopefully I will get an opportunity to help through something like the It Gets Better campaign or PSAs. I would absolutely love the opportunity to do something like that.
Do you think the American reaction is going to be different when this starts airing on The CW?
Oh, man, wow. I'm freaking out because I don't know. With every good reaction there's going to be a counter bad reaction, so I'm just going to have to go with the flow! I'm freaking out thinking about it right now. Thanks for bringing it up! [Laughs]
At this point, do you think the positive reaction is outweighing the negative?
On my Twitter, nothing has been negative yet. Some of the negative reactions have been coming from a lot of older black Canadians. In our culture, it's totally fine to be gay and open and all of that fun stuff, but if you're from an older generation it's still "wrong." I've been reading some negative comments, but I can't let that stop me. I just have to embrace it.
Are you worried about being typecast as a gay character for the rest of your career?
Honestly, I don't care. It was a thought that if the show was a success I might be pigeonholed, but who cares, really? I'm an actor -- that's what I do. I take on roles and then I lose the role and become me again.
"The L.A. Complex" airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on MuchMusic.
You can watch the controversial scene below -- SPOILER ALERT for those who haven't seen it!
Not sure what to do with your old, outdated electronics? If you live within the European Union, getting rid of your e-waste may soon be as easy as dropping by the local electronics shop. In an effort to increase electronic waste collection from four kilograms per capita to 20, the European Parliament has approved plans that would require electronic retailers with a retail space of 400 square meters or larger to accept e-waste for disposal, free of charge. The new rules will be implemented over the next seven years, and are part of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive -- a measure that also aims to limit illegal e-waste exports to developing countries.Between keeping your house uncluttered with old gadgets and keeping developing nations clean, what's not to like?
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia ? An Ethiopian court on Thursday found three journalists, a politician and a politician's assistant guilty of conspiring to commit acts of terrorism, in a case that drew rebukes from rights groups who fear the country's anti-terrorism law is being used to suppress dissent.
The five were charged under Ethiopia's controversial anti-terrorism laws. Government spokesman Shimeles Kemal has said they were involved in planning attacks on infrastructure, telecommunications and power lines.
Alemu Gobebo, a private lawyer and a father of one of the defendants, called the case politically motivated. The five will be sentenced Jan. 26. They could face the death penalty.
Among the three journalist convicted were Reeyot Alemu, a columnist for the independent weekly Fetah and a former opposition member; Elias Kifle, editor-in-chief of a U.S.-based opposition website, who was tried in absentia; and Wubshet Taye, deputy editor-in-chief of the recently closed-down weekly newspaper Awramba Times.
International rights groups have been calling for the release of the journalists. Ethiopia recently found two Swedish reporters guilty of supporting terrorism and sentenced them to 11 years in prison.
Ethiopia has arrested close to 200 people, among them journalists and opposition politicians and members, under last year's anti-terrorism proclamation.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, more journalists have fled Ethiopia than any other country in the world.
Amnesty International said it does not believe there is any evidence that the five were guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. Claire Beston, the group's Ethiopia researcher, called the five "prisoners of conscience." She said a significant amount of the prosecution's evidence relied on the defendants' reporting of and alleged involvement in calls for peaceful protest against the government.
Human Rights Watch said the anti-terrorism law violates free expression and due process rights.
"The verdict against these five people confirms that Ethiopia's anti-terrorism law is being used to crush independent reporting and peaceful political dissent," said Leslie Lefkow, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The Ethiopian courts are complicit in this political witch-hunt."
Cell senescence does not stop tumor growthPublic release date: 19-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr. Stefano Zapperi stefano.zapperi@cnr.it 39-026-617-3385 Public Library of Science
A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano and 2 physicists has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth
Since cancer cells grow indefinitely, it is commonly believed that senescence could act as a barrier against tumor growth and potentially be used as a way to treat cancer. A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano, Italy, and two physicists, from the National Research Council of Italy and from Cornell University, has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth, which is sustained by a small population of cancer stem cells. The results, published in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology on January 19 explain why it is difficult to treat cancer cells by inducing senescence alone.
The work explores the relationship between melanoma and senescence, the normal process where cells decline and eventually stop duplicating after reaching maturity. The investigators followed the long-term evolution of melanoma cell populations, monitoring the number of senescent cells. After three months, growth slowed and most of the cells turned senescent, however growth did not stop and eventually resumed its initial rate until the senescent cells had almost disappeared.
The authors mathematically modeled the experimental data using the cancer stem cell hypothesis, where a sub-group of cancer cells replicate indefinitely, and are thus unaffected by senescence. These cancer stem cells give rise to a larger population of cancer cells that can duplicate only a finite number of times. The model yielded an indirect confirmation of the presence of cancer stem cells in melanoma, an issue that is still controversial in the cancer research community.
Although a large fraction of cancer cells are susceptible to senescence, the researchers conclude that inducing senescence is unlikely to provide a successful therapeutic strategy because these cells are irrelevant for tumor growth. However, the indirect evidence of cancer stem cells in melanoma may enable the development of new methods to treat specific kinds of cancer. The challenge will be in the strong resistance to drug induced senescence that would be found in the cancer stem cells. Along this line of research, treatment of tumors would focus on targeting only these cancer stem cells, rather than every single cancerous cell.
###
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: JPS acknowledges NCI-U54CA143876 for support. CAMLP is supported by PRIN 2008BP25KN004. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
COMPETING INTERESTS: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
CITATION: La Porta CAM, Zapperi S, Sethna JP (2012) Senescent Cells in Growing Tumors: Population Dynamics and Cancer Stem Cells. PLoS Comput Biol 8(1): e1002316. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002316
CONTACT:
Dr. Stefano Zapperi, CNR-IENI, Milano, Italy, phone: +39-02 66173 385, phone: stefano.zapperi@cnr.it
Dr. Caterina La Porta, Department of Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology, University of Milan, phone: +390250314927, email: caterina.laporta@unimi.it
Disclaimer
This press release refers to an upcoming article in PLoS Computational Biology. The release is provided by journal staff, or by the article authors and/or their institutions. Any opinions expressed in this release or article are the personal views of the journal staff and/or article contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLoS. PLoS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the releases and articles and your use of such information.
Media Permissions
PLoS Journals publish under a Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/), which permits free reuse of all materials published with the article, so long as the work is cited (e.g., Kaltenbach LS et al. (2007) Huntingtin Interacting Proteins Are Genetic Modifiers of Neurodegeneration. PLoS Genet 3(5): e82. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.0030082). No prior permission is required from the authors or publisher. For queries about the license, please contact the relative journal contact indicated here: http://www.plos.org/journals/embargopolicy.php
About PLoS Computational Biology
PLoS Computational Biology (www.ploscompbiol.org) features works of exceptional significance that further our understanding of living systems at all scales through the application of computational methods. All works published in PLoS Computational Biology are open access. Everything is immediately available subject only to the condition that the original authorship and source are properly attributed. Copyright is retained.
About the Public Library of Science
The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. For more information, visit http://www.plos.org.
[ | 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.
Cell senescence does not stop tumor growthPublic release date: 19-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr. Stefano Zapperi stefano.zapperi@cnr.it 39-026-617-3385 Public Library of Science
A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano and 2 physicists has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth
Since cancer cells grow indefinitely, it is commonly believed that senescence could act as a barrier against tumor growth and potentially be used as a way to treat cancer. A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano, Italy, and two physicists, from the National Research Council of Italy and from Cornell University, has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth, which is sustained by a small population of cancer stem cells. The results, published in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology on January 19 explain why it is difficult to treat cancer cells by inducing senescence alone.
The work explores the relationship between melanoma and senescence, the normal process where cells decline and eventually stop duplicating after reaching maturity. The investigators followed the long-term evolution of melanoma cell populations, monitoring the number of senescent cells. After three months, growth slowed and most of the cells turned senescent, however growth did not stop and eventually resumed its initial rate until the senescent cells had almost disappeared.
The authors mathematically modeled the experimental data using the cancer stem cell hypothesis, where a sub-group of cancer cells replicate indefinitely, and are thus unaffected by senescence. These cancer stem cells give rise to a larger population of cancer cells that can duplicate only a finite number of times. The model yielded an indirect confirmation of the presence of cancer stem cells in melanoma, an issue that is still controversial in the cancer research community.
Although a large fraction of cancer cells are susceptible to senescence, the researchers conclude that inducing senescence is unlikely to provide a successful therapeutic strategy because these cells are irrelevant for tumor growth. However, the indirect evidence of cancer stem cells in melanoma may enable the development of new methods to treat specific kinds of cancer. The challenge will be in the strong resistance to drug induced senescence that would be found in the cancer stem cells. Along this line of research, treatment of tumors would focus on targeting only these cancer stem cells, rather than every single cancerous cell.
###
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: JPS acknowledges NCI-U54CA143876 for support. CAMLP is supported by PRIN 2008BP25KN004. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
COMPETING INTERESTS: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
CITATION: La Porta CAM, Zapperi S, Sethna JP (2012) Senescent Cells in Growing Tumors: Population Dynamics and Cancer Stem Cells. PLoS Comput Biol 8(1): e1002316. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002316
CONTACT:
Dr. Stefano Zapperi, CNR-IENI, Milano, Italy, phone: +39-02 66173 385, phone: stefano.zapperi@cnr.it
Dr. Caterina La Porta, Department of Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology, University of Milan, phone: +390250314927, email: caterina.laporta@unimi.it
Disclaimer
This press release refers to an upcoming article in PLoS Computational Biology. The release is provided by journal staff, or by the article authors and/or their institutions. Any opinions expressed in this release or article are the personal views of the journal staff and/or article contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLoS. PLoS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the releases and articles and your use of such information.
Media Permissions
PLoS Journals publish under a Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/), which permits free reuse of all materials published with the article, so long as the work is cited (e.g., Kaltenbach LS et al. (2007) Huntingtin Interacting Proteins Are Genetic Modifiers of Neurodegeneration. PLoS Genet 3(5): e82. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.0030082). No prior permission is required from the authors or publisher. For queries about the license, please contact the relative journal contact indicated here: http://www.plos.org/journals/embargopolicy.php
About PLoS Computational Biology
PLoS Computational Biology (www.ploscompbiol.org) features works of exceptional significance that further our understanding of living systems at all scales through the application of computational methods. All works published in PLoS Computational Biology are open access. Everything is immediately available subject only to the condition that the original authorship and source are properly attributed. Copyright is retained.
About the Public Library of Science
The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. For more information, visit http://www.plos.org.
[ | 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.
Cell senescence does not stop tumor growthPublic release date: 19-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr. Stefano Zapperi stefano.zapperi@cnr.it 39-026-617-3385 Public Library of Science
A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano and 2 physicists has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth
Since cancer cells grow indefinitely, it is commonly believed that senescence could act as a barrier against tumor growth and potentially be used as a way to treat cancer. A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano, Italy, and two physicists, from the National Research Council of Italy and from Cornell University, has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth, which is sustained by a small population of cancer stem cells. The results, published in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology on January 19 explain why it is difficult to treat cancer cells by inducing senescence alone.
The work explores the relationship between melanoma and senescence, the normal process where cells decline and eventually stop duplicating after reaching maturity. The investigators followed the long-term evolution of melanoma cell populations, monitoring the number of senescent cells. After three months, growth slowed and most of the cells turned senescent, however growth did not stop and eventually resumed its initial rate until the senescent cells had almost disappeared.
The authors mathematically modeled the experimental data using the cancer stem cell hypothesis, where a sub-group of cancer cells replicate indefinitely, and are thus unaffected by senescence. These cancer stem cells give rise to a larger population of cancer cells that can duplicate only a finite number of times. The model yielded an indirect confirmation of the presence of cancer stem cells in melanoma, an issue that is still controversial in the cancer research community.
Although a large fraction of cancer cells are susceptible to senescence, the researchers conclude that inducing senescence is unlikely to provide a successful therapeutic strategy because these cells are irrelevant for tumor growth. However, the indirect evidence of cancer stem cells in melanoma may enable the development of new methods to treat specific kinds of cancer. The challenge will be in the strong resistance to drug induced senescence that would be found in the cancer stem cells. Along this line of research, treatment of tumors would focus on targeting only these cancer stem cells, rather than every single cancerous cell.
###
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: JPS acknowledges NCI-U54CA143876 for support. CAMLP is supported by PRIN 2008BP25KN004. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
COMPETING INTERESTS: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
CITATION: La Porta CAM, Zapperi S, Sethna JP (2012) Senescent Cells in Growing Tumors: Population Dynamics and Cancer Stem Cells. PLoS Comput Biol 8(1): e1002316. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002316
CONTACT:
Dr. Stefano Zapperi, CNR-IENI, Milano, Italy, phone: +39-02 66173 385, phone: stefano.zapperi@cnr.it
Dr. Caterina La Porta, Department of Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology, University of Milan, phone: +390250314927, email: caterina.laporta@unimi.it
Disclaimer
This press release refers to an upcoming article in PLoS Computational Biology. The release is provided by journal staff, or by the article authors and/or their institutions. Any opinions expressed in this release or article are the personal views of the journal staff and/or article contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLoS. PLoS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the releases and articles and your use of such information.
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About PLoS Computational Biology
PLoS Computational Biology (www.ploscompbiol.org) features works of exceptional significance that further our understanding of living systems at all scales through the application of computational methods. All works published in PLoS Computational Biology are open access. Everything is immediately available subject only to the condition that the original authorship and source are properly attributed. Copyright is retained.
About the Public Library of Science
The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. For more information, visit http://www.plos.org.
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Cell senescence does not stop tumor growthPublic release date: 19-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr. Stefano Zapperi stefano.zapperi@cnr.it 39-026-617-3385 Public Library of Science
A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano and 2 physicists has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth
Since cancer cells grow indefinitely, it is commonly believed that senescence could act as a barrier against tumor growth and potentially be used as a way to treat cancer. A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano, Italy, and two physicists, from the National Research Council of Italy and from Cornell University, has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth, which is sustained by a small population of cancer stem cells. The results, published in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology on January 19 explain why it is difficult to treat cancer cells by inducing senescence alone.
The work explores the relationship between melanoma and senescence, the normal process where cells decline and eventually stop duplicating after reaching maturity. The investigators followed the long-term evolution of melanoma cell populations, monitoring the number of senescent cells. After three months, growth slowed and most of the cells turned senescent, however growth did not stop and eventually resumed its initial rate until the senescent cells had almost disappeared.
The authors mathematically modeled the experimental data using the cancer stem cell hypothesis, where a sub-group of cancer cells replicate indefinitely, and are thus unaffected by senescence. These cancer stem cells give rise to a larger population of cancer cells that can duplicate only a finite number of times. The model yielded an indirect confirmation of the presence of cancer stem cells in melanoma, an issue that is still controversial in the cancer research community.
Although a large fraction of cancer cells are susceptible to senescence, the researchers conclude that inducing senescence is unlikely to provide a successful therapeutic strategy because these cells are irrelevant for tumor growth. However, the indirect evidence of cancer stem cells in melanoma may enable the development of new methods to treat specific kinds of cancer. The challenge will be in the strong resistance to drug induced senescence that would be found in the cancer stem cells. Along this line of research, treatment of tumors would focus on targeting only these cancer stem cells, rather than every single cancerous cell.
###
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: JPS acknowledges NCI-U54CA143876 for support. CAMLP is supported by PRIN 2008BP25KN004. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
COMPETING INTERESTS: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
CITATION: La Porta CAM, Zapperi S, Sethna JP (2012) Senescent Cells in Growing Tumors: Population Dynamics and Cancer Stem Cells. PLoS Comput Biol 8(1): e1002316. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002316
CONTACT:
Dr. Stefano Zapperi, CNR-IENI, Milano, Italy, phone: +39-02 66173 385, phone: stefano.zapperi@cnr.it
Dr. Caterina La Porta, Department of Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology, University of Milan, phone: +390250314927, email: caterina.laporta@unimi.it
Disclaimer
This press release refers to an upcoming article in PLoS Computational Biology. The release is provided by journal staff, or by the article authors and/or their institutions. Any opinions expressed in this release or article are the personal views of the journal staff and/or article contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLoS. PLoS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the releases and articles and your use of such information.
Media Permissions
PLoS Journals publish under a Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/), which permits free reuse of all materials published with the article, so long as the work is cited (e.g., Kaltenbach LS et al. (2007) Huntingtin Interacting Proteins Are Genetic Modifiers of Neurodegeneration. PLoS Genet 3(5): e82. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.0030082). No prior permission is required from the authors or publisher. For queries about the license, please contact the relative journal contact indicated here: http://www.plos.org/journals/embargopolicy.php
About PLoS Computational Biology
PLoS Computational Biology (www.ploscompbiol.org) features works of exceptional significance that further our understanding of living systems at all scales through the application of computational methods. All works published in PLoS Computational Biology are open access. Everything is immediately available subject only to the condition that the original authorship and source are properly attributed. Copyright is retained.
About the Public Library of Science
The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. For more information, visit http://www.plos.org.
[ | 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.
(Reuters) ? U.S. legislation aimed at curbing online piracy, which had appeared to be on a fast track for approval by Congress, appears likely to be scaled back or jettisoned entirely in the wake of critical comments over the weekend from the White House, people familiar with the matter said.
The legislation, known as SOPA in the House of Representatives and PIPA in the Senate, has been a major priority for entertainment companies, publishers, pharmaceutical firms and many industry groups, who say it is critical to curbing online piracy that costs them billions of dollars a year.
The legislation is designed to shut down access to overseas websites that traffic in stolen content or counterfeit goods.
Internet companies have furiously opposed the legislation and have ramped up their lobbying efforts in recent months, arguing the legislation would undermine innovation and free speech rights and compromise the functioning of the Internet.
Some Internet advocates have called for a boycott of any companies that support the legislation, and several popular websites, including community-edited encyclopedia Wikipedia and the social media site Reddit, have vowed to black out their sites this Wednesday in protest.
With public sentiment on the bill shifting in recent weeks and an implicit veto threat now emerging from the White House, Congressional staffers are resigning themselves to writing replacement language or possibly entirely new bills.
The White House said in a blog post over the weekend that it wouldn't support "legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet."
Three key section of the existing legislation seem likely to remain, a person familiar with the matter says. They comprise provisions aimed at getting search engines to disable links to foreign infringing sites; provisions that cut off advertising services to those sites; and provisions that cut off payment processing.
But critical provisions that would require Internet service providers such as Verizon Communications and Comcast Corp. to cut off infringing sites through a technology known as DNS blocking are now likely to be eliminated.
Critics have said that such measures would only encourage people to navigate the web in riskier ways, with modified browsers or other tweaks that could lead to their Internet sessions getting hijacked by scammers.
Lawmakers had already been coming around to the realization they would have to hold back on the DNS-blocking provisions.
Before the holidays, an amended version of the House bill had added a "kill switch," or provision that service providers wouldn't have to block a site if it did "impair the security or integrity of the system."
On Thursday, Senator Patrick Leahy, who is sponsoring the Senate bill, said he planned to propose amending it so that the ramifications of blocking access to a site be studied before implementation.
On Friday, Representative Lamar Smith, who is sponsoring the House bill, said he planned to remove altogether the provision that would require service providers to block access to infringing foreign websites.
A Google official said in Congressional testimony in November that the company did not necessarily oppose disabling search engine links and cutting off advertising.
But it is not clear if eliminating the DNS-blocking provisions alone will be enough to mollify critics.
"Like many other tech companies, we believe that there are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking U.S. companies to censor the Internet," a Google spokeswoman told Reuters on Monday.
In addition to concerns about the technical ramifications of DNS blocking and the practical issues associated with disabling services to individual websites, many in the Internet business fear the bills create far too much leeway to shut down websites without sufficient due process.
But supporters of the legislation are just as adamant that something needs to be done. Over the weekend, News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch, whose holdings include Fox, complained that the White House had caved.
"So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery," News Corp's chairman and chief executive officer posted on his personal Twitter account on Saturday."
The debate seems likely to intensify in the coming weeks. The White House said it would soon host a conference call among opponents of the existing bill.
(Reporting by Sarah McBride in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Ilaina Jones; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Sandra Maler)
Republican presidential candidates, from left to right: Texas Gov. Rick Perry; former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; arrive on stage at the start of the South Carolina Republican presidential candidate debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Republican presidential candidates, from left to right: Texas Gov. Rick Perry; former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; arrive on stage at the start of the South Carolina Republican presidential candidate debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) ? Newt Gingrich is refusing to back down from comments he made about the poor.
In a debate Monday night in South Carolina, Gingrich was asked whether his previous remarks about food stamps and allowing children to work janitor jobs to instill a work ethic were "insulting," particularly to African Americans.
Gingrich replied that "only the elites despise earning money." The former House speaker said he won't stop raising the issues simply because liberals become uncomfortable.
Gingrich said he believes "every American of every background has been endowed by their creator with the right to pursue happiness."
And he said that he will "continue to find ways to help poor people "learn how to get a job, learn how to get a better job and learn someday to own the job."
COLUMBIA, S.C. ? Mitt Romney's Republican rivals are intensifying their efforts to erode if not eliminate his standing as the man most likely to defeat President Barack Obama this fall, often stressing their own prospects over his in the final few days before South Carolina's potentially decisive weekend primary.
The stepped-up challenge to Romney's electability, in paid television advertising, campaign appearances and the first of two pre-primary debates, appears aimed at one of his principal strengths in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries. Voters in both contests said they prized a candidate's ability to beat Obama over a candidate's conservative credentials, a preference that helped the former Massachusetts governor to his pair of victories.
After spending days challenging Romney's record as a businessman, Newt Gingrich unveiled a television commercial on Tuesday that starts with an announcer saying only the former House speaker can defeat Obama.
The ad makes no mention of Romney, instead showing Gingrich drawing cheers from the audience at Monday's debate in Myrtle Beach when he said, "More people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president American history."
Gingrich also drew sustained applause from businessmen and businesswomen after a speech late Tuesday that made only passing reference to Romney, and none at all to his other rivals. Instead, he outlined his own proposals for lower taxes, less regulation and expanded domestic energy production.
"I believe I am the only candidate in this race who understands the scale of change necessary to get this country working again," Gingrich said. He predicted that if he wins the state's primary, the nomination would follow, adding, "We will run a campaign of paychecks vs. food stamps and we will beat Obama virtually everywhere in this country."
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Gov. Rick Perry are also hoping to change the perception of voters in the first-in-the-South primary state, sometimes by planting seeds of doubt, at other points sketching dismaying bleak prospects for the party if Romney is atop the ticket this fall.
"As Republicans, we cannot fire our nominee in September," Perry said to Romney from across the debate stage on Monday. "We need to know now. So I hope you'll put your tax records out there this week so the people of South Carolina can take a look and decide if, you know, we got a flawed candidate or not."
Santorum, campaigning in Lexington, S.C., on Tuesday, said Romney is a candidate in the mold of Bob Dole and John McCain, GOP nominees who led the party to defeat in 1996 and 2008. "He's never run as a conservative in a general election," he said.
By contrast, Santorum said he had won a pair of elections to the House from a Democratic district in Pennsylvania, then carried the state in successive Senate campaigns, including in 2000, when George W. Bush lost the state.
The former senator also sought to ease concerns about the double-digit defeat he suffered in 2006.
"I led the ticket even though I lost by a lot," he said, noting that five GOP congressmen lost that year in the state, including two who were under federal investigation.
The increased concentration on electability comes in the wake of polls with Iowa caucus-goers and New Hampshire primary voters, who said the ability to defeat Obama mattered more than a candidate's stands on conservative credentials, moral character or experience.
In Iowa, 31 percent of caucus-goers interviewed for The Associated Press and the television networks said a candidate's ability to defeat Obama mattered most. Romney won the backing of nearly half of them, far outdistancing the rest of the field.
Another 25 percent of caucus-goers interviewed said they cared most about a candidate who was a true conservative. Romney drew the support of a mere 1 percent of them. Among the 24 percent who cited strong moral character, his share was 11 percent.
The findings were roughly similar in New Hampshire, where Romney's margin of victory was larger than the slender eight-vote spread he won over Santorum in Iowa.
Thirty-five percent of New Hampshire voters cited an ability to defeat Obama as the most important factor in deciding which candidate to support, and Romney drew the backing of 63 percent of them.
Among the 13 percent who said they wanted most of all a candidate who was a true conservative, Romney was favored by only 13 percent; among the 22 percent who said strong moral character mattered most, the former Massachusetts governor got 26 percent.
The conclusion, according to a strategist for one of Romney's rivals, is that "a candidate has to show that he can defeat Obama before any of the ideological differences (among Republicans) can come into play. ... Voters don't want to vote for someone they think has no chance against Obama." The strategist declined to be identified by name, citing internal campaign strategy.
In the days since New Hampshire, the change in tone has seemed to accelerate. The five remaining rivals converge Thursday in Charleston for the final debate before Saturday's primary. No Republican since 1980 has won the party's presidential nomination without first capturing the South Carolina primary.
It is unclear if the emphasis on electability has had any impact on Romney's lead in the polls in South Carolina.
But the Romney campaign has responded to Gingrich in the past 24 hours with a new Web video and a telephone conference call to reporters. Both featured former Sen. Jim Talent of Missouri, who was in the House when Gingrich served as speaker of the House. "If we nominate him, he's going to be an unreliable candidate like he was an unreliable leader in the 1990s," he said.
Romney, back in the state a Wednesday after a fundraising trip to New York, slapped at Gingrich's claims as well
"He'd been in Congress two years when Ronald Reagan came to office," he said during an appearance at Wofford College in Spartanburg. Gingrich taking credit for jobs created during Reagan's administration "is like Al Gore taking credit for the Internet."
That was a retort to Gingrich's claim that he played a key role in two conservative revolutions, one led by Reagan in 1980, and the other that he led as speaker after Republicans took control of the House in 1994 after 40 years in the minority.
___
Associated Press writers Kasie Hunt and Shannon McCaffrey contributed to this report.
COMMENTARY | With the South Carolina Primary looming, politicians from the Palmetto State are everywhere one turns, appearing on talk shows and in videotaped segments, offering their opinions on the GOP presidential race and the importance of the South Carolina Primary itself. Sen. Lindsay Graham and Congressman Tim Scott appeared on NBC's "Meet The Press" today and asserted that a Mitt Romney win in their state basically seals the Republican nomination for the former Massachusetts governor. Were the two Republicans engaging in a little political hyperbole? And if not, how could that be, especially with 47 more primaries and caucuses to go in the 2012 nominating cycle?
"If for some reason he's not derailed here and Mitt Romney wins South Carolina, no one's ever won all three, I think it should be over," Graham told "Meet The Press." "That would be quite a testament to his ability as a candidate and a campaigner."
Scott agreed on the same episode. "If Romney wins South Carolina," he said, "I think the game is over."
But how can that be? Simply put: By the time the South Carolina Primary is held (Jan. 21), the war chests of the Republican campaigns will either be empty, nearly empty, or even running in the red. Most won't be able to stay in the race without continued financing. This happens during each presidential nomination cycle, where the candidates sink their money in the first several contests -- Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida. Without a good showing in these contests, many of the contenders drop out, winnowing the overall field. Those who have plenty of backing or get backing after posting strong results can expect their campaign coffers to be refilled and at least carry on through one or several more contests.
But Mitt Romney has won the first two contests (the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary), something no non-incumbent Republican candidate has ever done before. And even with strong anti-Romney sentiment in the Republican ranks, it does not appear to be strong enough to stop him. At least, not while the Republicans are fragmented.
Attempting to rectify that problem, a meeting of conservative evangelical Christian leaders over the weekend voted to endorse Sen. Rick Santorum (via the National Post ) in an effort to unify the Christian vote and support a candidate more conservative than Romney. With less than a week before the South Carolina Primary, it is uncertain if the move will be effective.
Romney, who has battled accusations that he is too liberal, that he flip flops on issues, and that he is not a true Christian (although that factor, that Romney's religion is seen as a cult by many evangelicals, is mostly subtext and rarely mentioned), has the lead in the South Carolina polls (as tracked by Real Clear Politics). His strongest contender appears to be Newt Gingrich, although Santorum made a strong bid in evangelical Iowa and helped produce the closest race in the Caucus' history. Santorum currently is polling in third and fourth in a dead heat with Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.
But Graham and Scott may also be buying into the idea that South Carolina traditionally has picked the Republican nominee, which gives it a sort of benedictory status. According to NPR, since the Primary's inception in 1980, South Carolina has chosen the candidate that eventually became the Republican nominee for president.
But it does not have to be that way. By the time South Carolina has voted and allocated its 25 delegates, there still will have only been 55 delegates appointed (some non-binding). There will be 2,286 appointed by the end of the primary cycle.
But by the time Florida holds its Primary on Jan. 31 (the fourth contest in the cycle), the race will either be over or nearly so. Candidates will have reached the end of their financial limits, hoping for something to give their campaign a spark or make the frontrunner stumble. If Romney takes the first-in-the-South primary in South Carolina, it would appear that momentum would be in his favor going into Florida. Financial backers become reluctant to back long shots as the race gets to Florida (and beyond) and only a candidate like Rep. Ron Paul, who has a solid base of supporters that rally periodically with "money bombs" to refill his campaign coffers, will continue for any extended period after South Carolina without some sign of a surge.
Although Sen. Lindsay Graham and Rep. Tim Scott shouldn't be correct in their assertions, especially given the number of states left to hold primaries and caucuses and the great number of delegates yet to be allocated, they most likely are.
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Public release date: 19-Jan-2012
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