You can soon detect counterfeit goods with your smartphone

You can soon detect fake currency and other counterfeit goods with just your smartphone, once research by the Massachussetts Institute of Technology is completed.

MIT chemical researchers are working on a technique to use microparticles that can be read by smartphones to thwart counterfeiting.

"The particles, which are invisible to the naked eye, contain colored stripes of nanocrystals that glow brightly when lit up with near-infrared light," the MIT said.

MIT chemical engineering professor Patrick Doyle, who led the research, said these particles can withstand extreme temperatures, sun exposure, and heavy wear, and can be manufactured easily and embedded into various materials.


Such particles can be incorporated directly into 3-D-printed objects, or even on currency, or be incorporated into ink that artists could use to authenticate their artwork.

Also, the particles can “record” their environments such as when a refrigerated vaccine has ever been exposed to temperatures too high or low.

MIT cited a 2013 United Nations report indicating two to five percent of all international trade involves counterfeit goods.

Such products may include electronics, automotive and aircraft parts, pharmaceuticals, and food, it said.

Cheap

The MIT said the particles have an advantage as they do not need an expensive decoder like those required by present anti-counterfeiting technologies.

"Using a smartphone camera equipped with a lens offering twentyfold magnification, anyone could image the particles after shining near-infrared light on them with a laser pointer," it said.

It added the researchers are working on a smartphone app that would further process the images and reveal the composition of the particles.

200 microns long

MIT said the new particles are about 200 microns long and include stripes of different colored nanocrystals, known as “rare earth upconverting nanocrystals.”

It said these crystals are doped with elements such as ytterbium, gadolinium, erbium, and thulium, "which emit visible colors when exposed to near-infrared light."

"By altering the ratios of these elements, the researchers can tune the crystals to emit any color in the visible spectrum," it said.

Particles with a mere six stripes can have one million possible color combinations, and the number can be exponentially enhanced by tagging products with more than one particle.

Researchers manufactured the particles using stop-flow lithography, a technique earlier developed by Doyle.

“It’s really a massive encoding capacity,” said lead author Paul Bisso, who started this project while on the technical staff at Lincoln Lab.

“You can apply different combinations of 10 particles to products from now until long past our time and you’ll never get the same combination,” he added.

“What separates our system from other anti-counterfeiting technologies is this ability to rapidly and inexpensively tailor material properties to meet the needs of very different and challenging requirements, without impacting smartphone readout or requiring a complete redesign of the system,” he said.


Jennifer Lewis, a professor of biologically inspired engineering at Harvard University who was not involved in the research, added the use of these upconverting nanocrystals is "quite clever and highly enabling.” — Joel Locsin/VC, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

AOL Mail suffers security breach, users advised to change passwords

 

Users of America Online (AOL) Mail were advised this week to change their passwords soonest, after a security breach hit the email service.

 

In a blog post, the AOL Security Team said it is investigating the "security incident" that it said involved "unauthorized access" to its systems.

 

"We are writing to notify you that AOL is investigating a security incident that involved unauthorized access to AOL's network and systems. AOL is working with best-in-class external forensic experts and federal authorities to investigate this serious criminal activity," it said.

  

 

It said it noticed a "significant" increase in the amount of spam mail spoofing AOL Mail addresses, to trick recipients into opening the spam messages.

 

AOL added its investigation so far indicates an "unauthorized access to information regarding a significant number of user accounts."

 

"This information included AOL users' email addresses, postal addresses, address book contact information, encrypted passwords and encrypted answers to security questions that we ask when a user resets his or her password, as well as certain employee information. We believe that spammers have used this contact information to send spoofed emails that appeared to come from roughly 2% of our email accounts," it said.

 

However, it said there is no sign the attackers broke the encryption on the passwords or the answers to security questions.

 

There is also no sign so far the attack had led to the disclosure of users' financial information, including debit and credit cards, which it said is also fully encrypted.

 

Still, it urged users to change passwords as a precaution.

 

"Although there is no indication that the encryption on the passwords or answers to security questions was broken, as a precautionary measure, we nevertheless strongly encourage our users and employees to reset their passwords used for any AOL service and, when doing so, also to change their security question and answer," it said.

 

In the meantime, AOL said its security team has enhanced protective measures and is notifying potentially affected users.

 

Protection

 

Meanwhile, AOL urged users to take precautions against cyber risks, including:

 

• Not responding to suspicious email, or clicking on any links or attachments in the email.
• Contacting the sender to confirm that he or she actually sent an email, when in doubt about the authenticity of an email.
• Not providing personal or financial information in an email to someone you do not know.

source: gmanetwork.com

Hall of Fame coach Jack Ramsay passes away - ESPN

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrined coach Dr. Jack Ramsay has passed away at the age of 89, ESPN reported, Monday.



Last week, sports columnist Peter Vescey tweeted out that Ramsey had been moved into a hospice.

SB Nation reported that Ramsey had been "battling various forms of cancer on and off for the past 15 years."

Ramsay began his coaching career at his alma Mater Saint Joseph’s College, before becoming the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers. He later moved down to become their head coach.

After four seasons as coach of the 76ers, he had a four season stint with the Buffalo Graves. He is most well-known though for giving the Portland Trail Blazers their first and only NBA title during the 1976-77 season. He closed out his coaching career with the Indiana Pacers.

In all, he had an 864-783 win-loss record over 21 NBA seasons.

Ramsay later went on to do broadcasting work for the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat, plus ESPN.

Ramsay was enshrined in the basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. The NBA named him one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History in 1996. In 2010, he was awarded the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award by the NBA, along with Tex Winter.   - AMD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

A brief guide to the Catholic Church’s sainthood procedure

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on Sunday proclaimed the sainthood of two of his predecessors, John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963, and John Paul II, who was pontiff from 1978 to 2005.

Here is a brief summary of how the Roman Catholic Church recognizes sainthood.

The process that can lead to sainthood, known as a "cause," cannot usually start until five years after a person's death.

In some cases, this five-year waiting period can be waived by a pope if there is overwhelming evidence that the person under consideration lived a holy life.

Pope John Paul waived the five-year period for Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who died in 1997, and Pope Benedict waived it for the sainthood cause of Pope John Paul, who died in 2005.

In the early years of the Church, a saint could be declared such by acclamation by the people or by cardinals or by papal decree.

Today, the Vatican department that studies sainthood causes is known as the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Its origins date back to 1588 but the department has been modified several times over the years.

After the Congregation accepts the name of a person to be considered for sainthood, that person is given the title "Servant of God."

If initial investigations show that the candidate for sainthood lived what is known as a life of "heroic virtues" that person is given the title "Venerable."

Historical and theological commissions in the Congregation study the person's life, read his or her writings and interview people who knew the person.

At this point, in order for the procedure to continue, a miracle is needed.

Miracles are not performed by prospective saints but by God. The Church believes that, because a prospective saint is in heaven, he or she can intercede with God to perform the miracle on someone on earth who has prayed to the prospective saint.

A miracle is usually a medically inexplicable healing. A medical commission appointed by the Vatican determines if there was any medical explanation for the healing or not.

Miracles are not necessary if a person was a martyr, someone killed in what the Church calls "hatred of the faith."

If a miracle is determined for those who were not martyrs, the person can be "beatified" and is given the title "Blessed."

John XXIII was beatified in 2000 and John Paul was beatified in 2011.

A second, distinct miracle must take place after the beatification in order to proceed to sainthood.

John Paul is credited with two miracles—the inexplicable healing of a French nun who was suffering from Parkinson's disease and the healing of a Costa Rican woman who was suffering from a brain aneurysm. Both had prayed to him after he died.

John XXIII, on the other hand, is credited with only one miracle—the healing of an Italian nun who was stricken by a stomach disease doctors had determined would be fatal.

In the case of Pope John XXIII, Pope Francis waived the requirement of a second miracle, ruling that after more than half a century since his death, there was no doubt that John was a holy man. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Holiday atmosphere as Rome gears up for papal canonization

VATICAN CITY - St. Peter's Square was packed ahead of Sunday's canonization of two of the 20th century's great popes but hustling tour guides and a hint of the fairground were reminders that it will be a show as well as a solemn ceremony.

More than a million people are expected in and around the square to see Pope Francis declare as saints John XXIII, the Italian pontiff who launched the modernising Second Vatican Council in 1962, and John Paul II, the revered Pole who led the Church for almost 27 years before his death in 2005.

Groups of pilgrims from Poland to Paraguay have come to attend the ceremony, drawn partly by the appeal of Francis, who has injected fresh enthusiasm into many Catholics since his appointment just over a year ago. The fame of the two popes being canonised has also attracted the faithful.

"I feel very happy because both of them inspire us," said Father Emmanuel Emeka, a priest from Nigeria. "I think both of them have a lot to teach us."

As has been true since Christian pilgrims began arriving in Rome more than 1,500 years ago, religious devotion exists side by side with the excitement of a holiday despite gloomy weather.

Tour guides in colored T shirts offered bus tours of the city and promised to get groups into Saint Peter's Basilica without the need for long queuing. Beggars circled wide-eyed tourists from as far away as Africa or Japan.

Alfredo Chiarelli, one of a small group of street merchants known as "urtisti," Italian for people who stop you on the street, has been busy selling religious souvenirs.

He engages curious tourists who stop to look at his tray of crucifixes, medallions and special rose-scented rosaries, his biggest seller.

"It's Pope Francis who has done this, he's really got through to people," he said, adding that the surge of interest in Francis had helped make up for pressure from cheaper Chinese-made wares and tighter spending in the economic downturn.

So far, most people have been interested in images of the Argentinian-born pope and articles connected with John Paul II, whose death brought huge crowds to Saint Peter's chanting "Santo subito!", calling for him to be made a saint immediately.

John XXIII, sometimes known as the "Good Pope" due to his friendly, humorous character, is less sought after by casual passers-by. "Most young people have no idea who John XXIII was anymore," Chiarelli says, sounding slightly regretful.

Trains and planes

For those unable to pack into Saint Peter's on Sunday, 18 huge television screens will be set up around Rome, with reinforced police and paramedical teams deployed around the city to handle crowds boosted by around a million foreign visitors.

"I always knew that our pope was a saint. Now it's only going to be official," said Piotr Kurylo, a Polish endurance runner who ran all the way to Rome to attend the ceremony. "Everything he did in his life always made him a saint."

For thousands of others, special trains and planes have been laid on and many people are planning to spend Saturday night in churches that will remain open all night, praying rather than sleeping. For more earthly needs, authorities have installed 980 chemical lavatories and plan to distribute 4 million bottles of water over the weekend to keep the crowds cool.

The local Rome daily Il Messaggero reported that many bars and restaurants in the area around Saint Peter's planned to shut their doors to avoid being overwhelmed in the crush. With most of the city's hotels booked out, police were cracking down on improvised bed and breakfasts set up specially for the occasion.

The mayor of Rome, Ignazio Marino, said there were no signs of any security problems. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Wall St. opens lower on Amazon, Ford results

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday as a number of bellwether names, including Amazon (AMZN.O) and Ford (F.N), fell following their quarterly results, overshadowing positive numbers from Microsoft (MSFT.O).

Amazon shares fell 7.5 percent to $310.80, while Ford was off 3.1 percent at $15.82. Microsoft, a Dow component, rose 1.1 percent to $40.29.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 53.49 points, or 0.32 percent, at 16,448.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was down 4.91 points, or 0.26 percent, at 1,873.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 28.07 points, or 0.68 percent, at 4,120.27.  — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Apple's China success sets stage for iPhone 6, new products

Strong sales of iPhones in China and emerging markets sets the stage for Apple Inc to reap even higher profits after it launches the next iPhone and other new products, analysts said.

At least 15 brokerages raised their price targets on the stock by as much as $60 to a high of $700 after it reported bumper results.

Shares of the company were up 8.5 percent at $569.49 in premarket trading on Thursday.

Apple's enlarged share buyback, bigger dividend, a larger iPhone 6 and new products would all drive the stock higher, RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani said in a note titled "Buy before Tim does it himself".

On Wednesday, Apple reported sales of 43.7 million iPhones in the quarter ended March 29, far outpacing the 38 million that Wall Street had predicted. Revenue from greater China climbed 13 percent and Japan sales rose 26 percent.

Apple approved another $30 billion in share buybacks till the end of 2015 and authorized a rarely seen seven-for-one stock split, addressing calls to share more of its cash hoard while broadening the stock's appeal to individual investors.

Many Apple observers are betting on another successful product emerging from its secretive labs in Cupertino, California in the second half of this year - perhaps an iWatch for users to wear on their wrist. Chief Executive Tim Cook has promised new product categories for 2014.

"We believe the iPhone 6 will prove to be a big hit in China and elsewhere around the world, while the iWatch opens up a new product category for Apple, and we believe the ramp with China Mobile will accelerate in the second half of the year," Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White said in a note.  — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

High-fat diets linked to some types of breast cancer

NEW YORK - Women who eat a lot of fat, particularly saturated fat, may be at higher risk of certain types of breast cancer, new research suggests.

Past studies have come to differing conclusions on a possible association between dietary fat and breast cancer. Whether the two are even linked at all remains controversial.

The new report, a second analysis of a large, long-term study, suggests that fat may play a role in the development of certain forms of the disease but not others, the authors said.

Still, it cannot prove that a high-fat diet is the reason any of the women got cancer.

"In our study we confirm that saturated fat intake was positively associated with breast cancer risk," lead author Sabina Sieri, from the Fondazione IRCCS National Cancer Institute in Milan, Italy, told Reuters Health in an email.

"Saturated fatty acids intake should be as low as possible within the context of a nutritionally adequate diet."

Saturated fat in the diet most often comes from meat and other animal products like butter and cheese.

The research team's findings are based on a study of about 337,000 women from 10 European countries. They filled out questionnaires about their diet and lifestyle and were followed for an average of 11 to 12 years.

During that time, about 10,000 of the women were diagnosed with breast cancer.

The original study found that women who ate the most saturated fat were more likely to develop breast cancer than those who ate the least.

For the new analysis, the researchers used patient medical records to classify breast cancers into specific subtypes, for instance based on whether the tumor may respond to the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

They found that women with diets high in saturated fat were 28 percent more likely to develop tumors that had receptors for estrogen and progesterone than women with the lowest saturated fat in their diets. The pattern was similar for total fat intake.

However, the chance of developing breast tumors without receptors for those hormones was not linked to dietary fat, according to the findings published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The researchers said it's possible dietary fat increases the level of sex hormones in the body. That could explain why high-fat diets are tied to a greater risk of tumors whose growth is related to estrogen and progesterone, known as hormone-receptor-positive cancers. Those cancers make up the majority of breast cancer diagnoses.

Sieri and colleagues found that high levels of saturated fat were also linked to a greater risk of HER2 negative breast cancer, but not HER2 positive disease. HER2 stands for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 and is one factor used to determine how fast a cancer is growing.

Dr. Clifford A. Hudis, chief of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Medicine Service in New York, said the extra risk of hormone-receptor-positive cancer linked to saturated fat was "relatively modest."

What's more, he added, "These patients were not randomly assigned to follow one diet or another."

That means other differences between women who ate high- and low-fat diets may have factored into their cancer risk.

Still, Hudis said, the findings are consistent with recent research looking at specific types of breast cancer and make sense based on what is known about the biological effects of dietary fat.

Dr. Michelle Holmes, who has studied diet and breast cancer at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said that in the grand scheme of things, any possible link between fat and breast cancer still seems to be small.

"In my opinion, the bottom line is that if the association with fat and breast cancer exists, it's fairly small (and) it's probably limited to certain subtypes," Holmes told Reuters Health.

Even though the new study included a "huge" number of women, she said, "the answer doesn't leap out at you."

Hudis and Holmes, who were not involved in the new research, agreed there's no reason women shouldn't still cut back on saturated fat.

"Saturated fat is bad for heart disease anyway," Holmes said.

"The associations with dietary fat are much stronger for heart disease, which still kills more women than breast cancer in the United States." —Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Australia says cost not a concern in MH370 search

PERTH - Australia said Wednesday cost was not a concern in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, after the mini-sub plumbing the depths of the Indian Ocean for wreckage ended its ninth mission empty-handed.

Australia is leading the multinational search for the Boeing 777 which vanished on March 8 carrying 239 people, and is bearing many of the costs of the mission expected to be the most expensive in aviation history.

"There will be some issues of costs into the future but this is not about costs," Defense Minister David Johnston told reporters in Canberra.

"We want to find this aircraft. We want to say to our friends in Malaysia and China this is not about cost, we are concerned to be seen to be helping them in a most tragic circumstance."

China, whose citizens made up two-thirds of the passengers onboard the ill-fated flight, and Malaysia are among eight countries including Australia which have committed assets to the Indian Ocean search.

But with no confirmed sightings of debris from the flight on the surface so far, the search moved underwater nearly two weeks ago and is yet to find any sign of the aircraft.

Speaking to reporters in Canberra, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said searchers still believed the plane crashed in the Indian Ocean.

"Our expert advice is that the aircraft went down somewhere in the Indian Ocean where they have identified a probable impact zone which is about 700 kilometers (435 miles) long, about 80 kilometers wide," he said.

Abbott said based on the detections from what Australia still believed was the black box recorder, an underwater search area of just under 400 square kilometers (154 square miles) was being scoured.

"We haven't finished the search, we haven't found anything yet in the area that we're searching, but the point I make is that Australia will not rest until we have done everything we humanly can to get to the bottom of this mystery," he said.

Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said the device looking for the plane on the seabed had scanned more than 80 percent of its target zone and was now on its 10th dive.

"No contacts of interest have been found to date," it said.

The torpedo-shaped autonomous underwater vehicle called a Bluefin-21 is searching an area at least 4,500 meters (15,000 feet) deep defined by a 10-kilometre radius around a detection of a signal believed to be from the plane's black box heard on April 8.

'Reasonable hope'

A surface search involving up to 10 military aircraft and 12 ships was also scheduled for Wednesday, despite suggestions last week that this effort would be scaled down in coming days.

JACC later suspended the air search activities due to bad weather, which had resulted in heavy seas and poor visibility, but said the ships would continue their work.

The visual hunt covers an area totaling about 37,948 square kilometers, some 855 kilometes northwest of Perth, JACC said.

Johnston said Australia was tracking the cost of the mission, and if the Bluefin-21 failed to spot wreckage the search would move into a new phase, but said Canberra was committed to the task.

"We move to the next phase which is a more intensive single sideband sonar type program, I suspect, but let's take advice of the experts as to where we go forward," he said.

Johnston said Australia was talking with its partners about the assets needed for the next phase of the search for the plane which mysteriously diverted en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Abbott said Australia would not abandon the search and let down the families of the six Australians and 233 other people onboard "by likely surrendering while there is reasonable hope of finding something."

"At the moment we are conducting an underwater search with the best equipment that is currently available," he said.

"If at the end of that period, we find nothing, we are not going to abandon the search. We may well re-think the search, but we will not rest until we have done everything we can to solve this mystery." — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Phelps facing toughest challenge yet

Michael Phelps has been swimming against the tide all his life. Time and time again he has proved the doubters wrong, setting the standard for Olympic achievement with his 18 gold medals.

But now, almost two years after retiring from swimming and two months shy of his 29th birthday, the American is plunging into uncharted waters by attempting a comeback where the risk-reward ratio is heavily stacked against him.

If all goes well, Phelps could be back on the winner's podium at Rio, although he insists he is still undecided about whether he wants to go to the 2016 Olympics.

If it goes wrong, he will join a long list of great athletes who were lured back to competition but failed to reproduce the form that took them to the top of their chosen sports.

His legacy is already assured. Nothing he does in the future will take away from what he did in the past but as Muhammad Ali, Mark Spitz, Michael Jordan, Bjorn Borg and Michael Schumacher all discovered, it can still become a permanent footnote.

Phelps has not yet given a full explanation for his decision to come back or his plans for the future. That will come on Wednesday when he and longtime coach Bob Bowman face the media before the April 24-26 Grand Prix meet in Mesa, Arizona, where he will make his return.

A global sporting icon, Phelps has already amassed a fortune through his endorsements so money is unlikely to be the driving motivation to get him back in the pool for the gruelling training required to be an Olympic swimmer.

Nor is he likely to top his past achievements so anything he does is likely to be less than before. He won six gold medals at Athens in 2004 and an unprecedented eight at Beijing in 2008 when he was at his absolute peak.

At the 2012 London Games he won four gold and by the law of diminishing returns would be hard-pressed to match that in Rio, when he will be 31, past the age when most elite swimmers have hung up their goggles but not too old to be totally discounted.

At the Athens Olympics, Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands won the women's 50 metres freestyle gold medal days before her 31st birthday.

Four years later in Beijing, Jason Lezak teamed up with Phelps to win gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay at 32 while Dara Torres won three silvers in the Chinese capital at age 41.

For Phelps, his biggest asset is his physique and perfect technique. He stands 1.93m (6ft 4in) tall but has a wingspan of 2.01m (6ft 7in) giving him greater pulling power in the water.

But the natural evolution of swimming looms as his biggest obstacle. Even if he can match his best times, his younger opponents are getting faster all the time.

This week's meet will offer few real clues to what Phelps might do in Rio, if he were to go that far. He has deliberately picked a relatively light programme of three races - 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly and 50m freestyle.

"It's just a start," Bowman told Reuters last week.

The first big test for Phelps will come in August when the U.S. national championships, which will double as the trials for next year's world championships in Russia, are held in California.

Then in mid 2016, the U.S. Olympic trials will take place in Omaha, Nebraska.

Phelps only needs to finish in the top six in either the 100m or 200m freestyle at the 2016 U.S. Olympic trials to make the relay team and if he did, he would have a realistic chance of adding to his collection of Olympic medals.

For mere mortals, that would be a lifelong achievement but for Phelps, he is likely to want to swim at least one individual event, possibly the 100m butterfly which would also secure him a place on the medley relay and a chance at four golds in Rio.  — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Dollar up against yen as Japan's trade deficit swells

TOKYO – The dollar rose against the yen in quiet Asian trade Monday after data showed Japan's trade deficit quadrupled year on year in March.

The greenback fetched ¥102.63 in Tokyo mid-day trading, up from ¥102.46 Friday, while the euro was up at ¥141.74 from ¥141.46. The single currency also fetched $1.3810, against $1.3812.

Most leading financial markets around the world were closed Friday and Monday for Easter.

The yen faced moderate selling pressure after Japan said early Monday that its trade deficit surged to $14 billion in March, with a weak yen compounding surging imports as consumers rushed to buy ahead of a sales tax rise on April 1.

But the dollar is unlikely to breach ¥103 any time soon as investor sentiment has yet to completely turn the risk-on mode, says Osamu Takashima, chief FX strategist at Citi Bank Japan, in a morning note.

"We don't feel any sign that aggressive yen selling is set to start amid falling volatility," Takashima said.

Eyes are on the release this week of key economic data, including manufacturing activity around the world as well as retail, jobs and housing figures in the United States. – Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Google ramps up Android security, now scans all apps

Google is ramping up security for users of devices running its Android operating system, by now scanning all apps on the device instead of just those installed via third-party app stores.

In a blog post, Android security engineer Rich Cannings likened the move – which fortifies Android's "Verify apps" service layer – to fortifying a home's security system.

"(W)e’re rolling out a new enhancement which will now continually check devices to make sure that all apps are behaving in a safe manner, even after installation," Cannings said.

He noted the "Verify apps" features already protects people when they are installing apps outside of Google Play at the time of installation.

Cannings said that in 2013, "Verify apps" had been used more than four billion times to check apps at the time of install.

With the new enhancement, that protection will now go even further, using Android’s powerful app scanning system developed by the Android security and Safe Browsing teams.

But Cannings also noted people will not likely see the warning or any other indication that the added layer of protection is there.

He said that in 2013, fewer than 0.18 percent of installs occurred after someone received a warning that the app was potentially harmful.

"Even though the risk is miniscule, we’re committed to making sure that the best available security protections are available to all Android users. This includes service-based protections such as Verify apps, as well as security features within the platform itself," he added.

A separate report on Mashable noted the "Verify Apps" setting is found under the security settings menu on most versions of Android, and is enabled by default on smartphones and tablets.  — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Saudi Arabia announces jump in new cases of deadly MERS virus

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia confirmed 20 new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on Saturday and Sunday, adding up to 49 infections in six days, a sudden increase of a disease that kills about a third of the people infected and has no cure.

MERS, a SARS-like novel coronavirus that emerged in Saudi Arabia two years ago, has infected 244 people in the kingdom, of whom 76 have died, the Health Ministry said on its website.

However, Health Minister Abdullah al-Rabia on Sunday told reporters there was no scientific evidence yet to justify ordering additional preventative measures such as travel restrictions.

He said he did not know why there had been a surge of cases in Jeddah but said it might be part of a seasonal pattern since there was also a big rise in infections last April and May.

Another cluster of cases has been detected in the United Arab Emirates and a Malaysian who was recently in the Gulf has been confirmed as infected, his country said.

MERS has no vaccine or anti-viral treatment, but international and Saudi health authorities say the disease, which originated in camels, does not transmit easily between people and may simply die out.

Health experts have warned, however, that MERS has the potential to mutate eventually.

The number of officially confirmed Saudi cases has jumped suddenly over the past two weeks.

Saudi authorities last week issued several statements aimed at reassuring the public that there was no immediate cause for concern at the latest outbreak and that it had not met international definitions of an epidemic.

Rabia said the ministry had invited five European and North American companies to work with it in developing a vaccine and that some of the companies would soon visit the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, is expected to receive a surge of pilgrims in July during the faith's annual fasting month of Ramadan, followed by millions more in early October for the Haj.

New infections

Last week Malaysian health authorities said a Malaysian citizen had been confirmed as having the disease after he returned from pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Rumours of unreported cases have circulated on Saudi social media feeds in recent weeks. Last week, the kingdom's cabinet asked Saudi news organisations to report only those cases that are officially confirmed by the Health Ministry.

Most of the new infections are in Saudi Arabia's port city of Jeddah, where 37 people have been infected since Monday, seven of them fatally. Another 10 new cases, one of them fatal so far, were discovered in the capital Riyadh. There were also new cases confirmed in Najran Province and the city of Medina.

Last week, another cluster of cases was discovered in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, and Yemen reported its first case.

Separately, the UAE state news agency WAM said late on Saturday that it had recorded 12 new cases of coronavirus infections that were discovered during "routine checks" on people who had come into contact with infected individuals.

WAM quoted the health authority as saying that the patients were being kept in hospital and "did not pose a danger to the public or to patients". It expected the patients to be rid of the MERS virus within 10 to 14 days. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

US scientists make embryonic stem cells from adult skin

WASHINGTON - For the first time, US researchers have cloned embryonic stem cells from adult cells, a breakthrough on the path towards helping doctors treat a host of diseases.

The embryonic stem cells—which were created by fusing an adult skin cell with an egg cell that had been stripped of genetic material—were genetically identical to the donors.

The hope is that cloned embryonic stem cells, which are capable of transforming into any other type of cell in the body, could be used in patient-specific regenerative therapy to repair or replace an individual's organs damaged by diseases including cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease.

The team of researchers, led by Robert Lanza, of the Massachusetts-based company Advanced Cell Technology, used a technique that had succeeded last year with infant skin cells.

But Lanza's team, funded in part by the South Korean government, used cells from a 35-year-old man and a 75-year-old man.

This is a significant step forward, the researchers wrote in the study published Thursday in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

"For many cell types, reprogramming is more difficult for adult cells than for fetal/infant cells, presumably at least in part because (they are) ... further removed from the pluripotent state" in which the cells can develop into different types, the study said.

Yet adults are more likely than infants to need regenerative therapy, the authors wrote, noting that "the incidence of many diseases that could be treated with pluripotent cell derivatives increases with age."

One advantage of this approach is that it does not use fertilized embryos to obtain stem cells, a technique that raises major ethical issues because the embryo is destroyed.

But critics, including the Catholic Church, believe it presents a slippery slope that could lead to cloning of human beings, a suggestion scientists deny.

Since the birth of Dolly the sheep in 1996 in the United Kingdom, the first cloned animal, researchers have cloned some 20 species including goats and rabbits, but never monkeys or primates whose biology and reproduction is more complex.

Years of research on monkey cells using the same technique have not successfully produced any monkey clones. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Google Camera intentionally makes your photos blurry

Good news for selfie addicts and photo enthusiasts: you can now take photos SLR-style photos with their Android smartphones, with a new camera app from Google.

Software engineer Carlos Hernández said the new "Lens Blur" achieves an optical effect that would have required a big lens and aperture.

"(Lens Blur is) a new mode in the Google Camera app (that) lets you take a photo with a shallow depth of field using just your Android phone or tablet. Unlike a regular photo, Lens Blur lets you change the point or level of focus after the photo is taken," Hernandez said in a blog post.

He said a user can make any object come into focus simply by tapping on it in the image.

Changing the depth-of-field slider can simulate different aperture sizes to achieve bokeh effects ranging from subtle to surreal such as tilt-shift, he added.

"The new image is rendered instantly, allowing you to see your changes in real time," Hernandez said.

Also, he said the algorithms used to create the 3D photo run entirely on the mobile device, and are closely related to the algorithms in 3D mapping features like Google Maps Photo Tours and Google Earth.

Google Camera

Meanwhile, tech site Mashable said Google has released "Google Camera," a standalone version of its stock camera app for Android.

It said the new app was first rumored to surface earlier this month.

Google Camera is available in the Google Play Store and is compatible with devices running Android 4.4 (KitKat), Mashable added. -Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft now available worldwide on iPad

Nearly three weeks after launching in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the mobile version of Blizzard's popular card game series has finally launched worldwide.

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is now available in all countries at the App Store for iPad users. New players will be given a free card pack after playing through its tutorial missions, while veteran players can get their packs by starting a game in Play, Arena, or Practice mode.

Card collections can be ported across both PC and iPad versions, allowing long-time players to continue their progress on the go.

Players who prefer to challenge themselves may also play the Curse of Naxxramas, an episodic single-player adventure mode for Hearthstone.

Its first wing, "The Arachnid Quarter", will be released for free and simultaneously on PC, Mac, and iOS, with four other wings available for a yet-to-be-announced price, according to Forbes.


Naxxramas dungeon's five wings will come with 30 new unlockable cards. Each completed wing will also reward players a new Legendary card. Nine new class-specific challenges will also reward players with unique cards if completed during the adventure. - Rie Takumi/TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Google still a top pick for Wall Street, despite mobile ad challenges

Google Inc's disappointing first-quarter results left Wall Street unfazed about the internet giant's ability to come to grips with the shift to the fast-growing mobile advertising market.

Google shares were down about 3 percent in early trading on Thursday, and at least 12 brokerages cut their target price on the stock. But most analysts kept a "buy" rating or equivalent on the company's shares.

"Despite an expectations-miss quarter, Google remains one of the best-positioned stocks for many of the secular growth drivers in the Internet space," RBC Capital analyst Mark Mahaney, who kept his "outperform" rating on the stock, said in a note to clients.

Of the 46 analysts covering Google, 35 have a "buy" or equivalent rating on the stock. Nobody has a "sell".

Google, Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc are revamping their products and advertising business to try to take advantage of a global shift to mobile phones and tablets.

For investors in Google, accustomed to the company enjoying one of the highest ad margins in the business, mobile ads have translated to a steep drop in ad rates.

Advertising rates on mobile phones are typically cheaper than traditional online ads because of their smaller screens. But mobile advertising continues to make up a bigger slice of the revenue of Internet companies.

Google company reported a 26 percent increase in paid clicks volumes but the average cost-per-click declined 9 percent.

"Google remains a core internet holding and we reiterate our "overweight" rating," Morgan Stanley said in a note titled "Keep calm and search on".

Analysts highlighted core revenue growth from Google websites and YouTube, higher contribution from rest-of-world revenue, strong sales of digital apps and content in Google's Play Store and Chromecast TV dongles.

Many also expect Google's Enhanced Campaigns advertisement program and other ad products to improve monetization from mobile and noted management's view that location and other data would help mobile pricing over time.

"We continue to recommend GOOGL due to the strength of the core search business, continued product innovation, and improving monetization, which should allow GOOGL to take a growing share of the desktop and mobile online ad markets," Susquehanna analyst Brian Nowak said.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster also remained upbeat.

"We continue to view Google as the best long term large cap story in our coverage space given the company's focus on innovation," he said.

However, Goldman Sachs, which has a "neutral" rating on Google's shares, said it expected the stock to remain range-bound in the near-term as the market waits for mobile cost-per-click rates to improve.

Google shares were trading at $545.22 shortly after the opening on the Nasdaq after closing at $563.90 on Wednesday. - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Microsoft ditches Windows 8.1, forces users to upgrade

Users of machines running Microsoft's Windows 8.1 are now being forced to download and install a cumulative update if they want to continue getting security updates for the relatively new operating system.

But the policy - where users are cut off from getting security patches if they do not install Windows 8.1 Update 1 - was heavily criticized for "terrible timing."

"Windows 8.1 Update is a cumulative update to Windows 8.1, containing all the updates we have released for Windows 8.1, so if you install this update you do not need any earlier updates. It also becomes the new servicing baseline for Windows 8.1, so next month’s security updates (on May 13th, the next 'patch Tuesday') will be dependent on Windows 8.1 Update," Microsoft's Ben Hunter said in a blog post.

The update pack includes enhancements such as an Enterprise Mode for Internet Explorer 11, which allows businesses to benefit from modern web standards, better performance, and increased security of Microsoft's latest browser.

However, an article on Forbes.com questioned the policy, saying this can alienate users who may be left behind in terms of patches when the next Patch Tuesday comes on May 13.

Forbes.com also indicated it is ironic that users of Windows 8 - a version earlier than 8.1 - can continue receiving patches until January 2016.

"If Microsoft can keep security eligibility alive for Windows 8.0 for eight more months because it recognises not everyone upgrades immediately, why can’t it give Windows 8.1 users more leeway than 30 days to install Update 1?" it said.

Also, Forbes.com cited Microsoft’s "terrible timing," coming amid concerns over Heartbleed, a security bug that may have exposed user details on 17 percent of the world’s supposedly secure web servers.

"Heartbleed has hit headlines around the globe and made users paranoid about security. Microsoft could not see it coming, but in refusing to give Windows 8.1 users more time in its wake the company looks antagonistic," it said.

Still another problem is an issue preventing some who already installed Windows 8.1 Update from getting patches.

The tragedy is that the update pack is a great one, addressing many complaints of earlier versions of Windows 8, Forbes.com said.

Update 1 can smartly boot users without touchscreens to the desktop by default instead of the Metro interface.

It also cuts its install size in half (from 32GB to 16GB) on SSDs, runs faster on slower hardware and has minimum memory requirements from 2GB to 1GB of RAM.

"And yet perhaps the most frustrating aspect to all of this is Windows 8.1 Update 1 is a great update. In fact it is arguably the best and most important update Windows 8 has received," it said. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

‘Heartbleed’ hits 1.5 million users of UK parenting website

LONDON - British parenting website Mumsnet is the latest organization to have been hacked due to the "Heartbleed" bug, founder Justine Roberts revealed on Monday.

"Last week we became aware of the Heartbleed bug and immediately applied a fix to close the OpenSSL security hole," she said in a statement.

"However, it became apparent that users' data submitted via our login page had been accessed prior to our applying this fix."

All 1.5 million registered users were asked to change their passwords, and Roberts did not know how many users had had data stolen.

"The worst case scenario is that the data of every Mumsnet user account was accessed," she said.

"It is possible that this information could then have been used to log in as you and give access to your posting history, your personal messages and your personal profile, although we should say that we have seen no evidence of anyone's account being used for anything other than to flag up the security breach."

The website offers users a forum in which parents can ask for, and pass on, advice about bringing up children.

Officials in Ottawa on Monday announced personal data for as many as 900 Canadian taxpayers had been stolen after being made vulnerable by the bug.

The recently-discovered flaw in online-data scrambling software OpenSSL allows hackers to eavesdrop on online communications, steal data, impersonate websites and unlock encrypted data.

Computer security specialists, website masters and others became aware last week of problems posed by the "Heartbleed" bug after several reports of hacking. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Pacquiao showed cerebral side in match versus Bradley - analyst

Don't let that non-knockout win fool you.

While some may dismiss Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao's non-knockout win over Timothy Bradley Jr. Sunday as boring, international boxing judge and referee Danrex Tapdasan sees it as a show of Pacquiao's cerebral side.

"(I)t's not about the knockout. It's all about how you study your opponent. These are world-class fighters, heavily conditioned," Tapdasan said in an interview on GMA News TV's "News to Go."

He said that had Pacquiao adopted an aggressive stance and gone for the knockout, he could been at the business end of a knockout punch from the younger Bradley.

"Kung si Manny Pacquiao entered this fight as the young Manny Pacquiao na sugod ng sugod, yung kaliwa lang ang kanyang inaasahan tapos paikot-ikot sa kalaban, I was afraid baka ma-headbutt siya along the way roon sa first half ng laban at matalo siya o magtabla lang ang laban," he said.

He added that with Bradley packing a strong punch, Pacquiao stood little chance of winning if his footwork and reflexes were slow.

Yet, he said Pacquiao learned to adjust, weathering Bradley's attacks in the first six rounds and getting back at his foe in the second half of the match when Bradley was getting tired.

Tapdasan also noted Pacquiao "knows how to move," moving backward when Bradley threw a punch, so he would not feel the full impact of the punch. "So kita mo ngayon ang evolution ni Manny," he said.

“[Pacquiao] adjusted into that kind of style. Ganoon katalino ang Manny Pacquiao," he added.

Because of this, he said Pacquiao showed he is now a "smarter fighter," adding boxing "is a mind game."

"So I can say this is a big win for Manny, a great win for Manny. For the longest time, I think I saw the best Manny Pacquiao that is possible," he added.

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather?

Meanwhile, Tapdasan said the chances of a match between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be getting dimmer as both fighters' camps have yet to negotiate a deal for a bout.


Until both camps can end the "complicated battle of negotiations," he said a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout may remain the subject of a "video game fantasy match."

"Sabi ko, Mayweather will never beat Manny Pacquiao and Manny Pacquiao will never beat Mayweather because they will never fight. It will remain a fantasy game which we can only do in a video game fantasy match," he said. - Joel Locsin / AMD, GMA News

source gmanetwork.com

Justin Bieber hearing set for May in Canada

OTTAWA - The next hearing on Canadian pop star Justin Bieber's assault charge for striking a limousine driver on the back of the head was set for May 12, court officials said Monday.

The troubled celeb was not in court for the routine pretrial hearing, nor were the throngs of teenage girls that showed up last month hoping for a glimpse of their idol.

Instead, Bieber was represented by his lawyer and the proceedings wrapped up very quickly after prosecutors provided additional disclosures in the case.

The actual trial date has yet to be set.

Toronto police have accused Bieber of hitting a limousine driver "several times" over the back of the head. The car had picked him and five others up from a nightclub in the city in the early hours of December 30. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Metal Gear Solid V is a taste of wars to come

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the legendary soldier of video gaming in action, but once again the man known as Snake is back. And much like the words spoken by his genetic offspring decades later, “War has changed” with the newest and latest installment of the Metal Gear series with “Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes”.


Except that this isn’t the complete game just yet. Rather, series creator Hideo Kojima and Konami have released what is considered a “Prologue” chapter and first part of the overall new sequel - intended to tide fans over until the real meat of the experience, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, is released. With development for that game still ongoing, Ground Zeroes literally gives us a taste of things to come, and is honestly quite short to finish for a standard released next generation title.

However, don’t let the length of the game fool you, as Ground Zeroes is still very much a must play title despite its short main narrative. Utilizing the new and proprietary Fox Engine developed by Kojima Productions, this prequel has a lot to show for itself by displaying how immersive the new gameplay mechanics are as well as the realistic new graphics rendered to bring the entire MGS experience to life. Those who’ve played past Metal Gear Solid games will be familiar with the basic layout of controls to navigate Snake, but there’s plenty of new tricks as well, with an open-world like experience delivered by the Fox Engine that adds new depth and tension to the sneaking game experience like never before.



Set chronologically in 1975 and a year after the events of “Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker”, Ground Zeroes continues the story of Naked Snake, better known as the legendary mercenary soldier “Big Boss” and the commanding officer of the Militaires Sans Frontieres or “Soldiers Without Borders”.

Now voiced by Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland in place of longtime series actor David Hayter, Big Boss is sent to infiltrate an American black site called “Camp Omega” in Cuba to rescue two individuals he was involved with during the “Peace Walker” incident – a young Sandanista soldier named Ricardo “Chico” Valenciano Libre, and former ally/ Cipher agent Pacifica Ocean, aka “Paz Ortega Andrade”. With help and intel provided via communications by his trusted friend and second in command Kazuhira “Kaz” Miller, Snake returns to the field for a new mission… Not knowing the dangers the lie in store for him and his comrades.

It’s been far too long since the last Metal Gear game for a next-gen gaming system attempted to push boundaries, but Ground Zeroes has done an impressive job of introducing new combat and stealth tactics thanks to the immersive open-world gameplay and dynamic environment the Fox Engine introduces.

The player can choose how to move Snake in the field, and assisted by Codec communications and surveying the field by using Binoculars, it is clear that Hideo Kojima isn’t handing things on a silver platter, and that sneaking and clever planning are your tools to fulfilling your mission objectives with absolute precision.

Of course, that’s not to say that Big Boss doesn’t have any weapons at his disposal. The legendary soldier is equipped with an assault rifle and assortment of pistols and secondary weapons before infiltrating Camp Omega, and players can guide Snake to procure other weapons they find around the base. Literally, how one plays is entirely up to them, and beyond the main prologue chapter there are several other missions based around the black site that will prove different and entertaining at the same time to add some replay value to the game.

No walk in the park

Bearing the “Tactical Espionage Operations” tagline is not an exaggeration for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, and there’s plenty to do in conjunction with sneaking and taking out enemy soldiers during the mission. Much like past installments, Snake can use Close Quarters Combat or CQC together with his stealth methods to take out a guard or interrogate them for vital information.

Soldiers are more resilient and aware though thanks to the new gameplay mechanics, and they can easily spot Snake through any careless noise or movements made. Thankfully, a slow-motion “quick reaction” effect has been added by Kojima Productions to give the player time to take out their adversary before he alerts his comrades and the entire base. Also, it’s no walk in the park to rescue prisoners either, and you’ll have to carry them to predetermined extraction areas and call for a chopper via a new device developed by Mother Base and handily used to assist Big Boss in completing his mission.

iDroid app for iOS, Android

Introduced to the series is a new tablet-like device called an “iDroid”, which helps Snake survey the map of the base, add markers, and review mission objectives as indicated. Additionally, the iDroid can be used by iOS and Android users, as Konami has released an App that players can download and sync into their existing accounts with their gaming system to play in real-time. This is a new and unique feature to the MGS V experience that Kojima has incorporated to give a sense of realism and urgency, and the creator plans to carry over to The Phantom Pain, which he expressed in several interviews will be much larger in depth and scope.

With a tag price of about $20 dollars and out now for the Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is very much like a tasty fast food meal to satiate the cravings of a hungry customer. It may not be the complete MGS V experience yet, but it certainly carries a lot of new elements and extra missions beyond the main prologue that fans of the franchise will definitely want to experience firsthand and sample before The Phantom Pain comes around. Whether you consider it an “extended demo” or “short game”, it still is an essential part of Metal Gear canon, and Hideo Kojima and Konami have only promised through this that the best is yet to come. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Pacquiao gets his revenge, dispatches Bradley for WBO title

It took two years, but Manny Pacquiao can finally say he has defeated Timothy Bradley Jr.

The Sarangani congressman, who lost the first time the two met in a controversial split decision, took down the previously-undefeated American by unanimous decision, 118-110, 116-112, 116-112, Saturday (Sunday, PHL time), in their WBO welterweight title bout held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, also the site of their first bout.

[Review the round-by-round coverage here]


The Filipino ring icon improved to 56-5 with two drawn and 38 wins inside the distance as he regained the World Boxing Organization welterweight world title he lost to Bradley on June 9, 2012.

Although he couldn't get his first knockout win since 2009, Pacquiao lived up to his pre-fight promise to come out with more aggression, denying Bradley's avowed aim of sending him into retirement with another defeat.

"I think I can go another two years," said Pacquiao, who has won world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions. "I'm so happy to be world champion again. Tim Bradley was not an easy fight."

Bradley, who said he fought from the first round with a right calf injury, fell to 31-1, with 12 knockouts.

"Life goes on," Bradley said of his first pro defeat. "It's back to the gym. Not a big deal."

Judge Glen Trowbridge scored the bout 118-110 for Pacquiao, while both Michael Pernick and Canada's Craig Metcalf saw it 116-112 for the 'Pacman,' whose every move was cheered by the star-studded crowd of 15,601 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

After a tight first round, Pacquiao made his power felt in the second.

The third saw both fighters exchange at a furious rate, Pacquiao again landing the more damaging blows.

But Bradley shook Pacquiao in the fourth, and Pacquiao said California's "Desert Storm" was an improved fighter from the one who took a bitterly debated split decision in their first fight.

"Bradley is better from the first fight," Pacquiao said. "He hurt me on the chin. He made adjustments.

"I knew I had to do more this time than I did the last time," he added.

Although the pace slowed in the later rounds, Pacquiao put together multi-punch combinations in the seventh, and out-worked Bradley in the remaining rounds.

After throwing few punches in the 11th, a desperate Bradley swung wildly in the 12th, and Pacquiao finished the fight with a cut over his left eye from a clash of heads late in the final round.


For Pacquiao, his win opens the door to a fifth battle against Juan Manuel Marquez, should the Mexican win against Mike Alvarado on May 17, 2014 (May 18, PHL time). The Sarangani congressman though wouldn’t discuss any specifics, saying, “It depends on my promoter Bob Arum…my job is to fight in the ring any opponent.”

Back in 2012, Bradley won 115-113 115-113 113-115 despite Pacquiao looking like he dominated most of their match. Pacquiao followed that up with a shocking KO loss to Juan Manuel Marquez, prompting some to consider him too old to become a serious contender in the sport.

However, in this bout, Pacquiao made sure there was no room for doubt, en route to his win.  - with a report from AFP / AMD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Study ties breathing problems, asthma to bone loss

NEW YORK - People with asthma-related breathing problems may be at increased risk for bone loss, according to a new study.

The study examined the records of more than 7,000 adults in Seoul, Korea, and found those with a certain characteristic of asthma had significantly lower bone density in a region of their spine than those without asthma symptoms.

The characteristic, called airway hyperresponsiveness, means the airways in the lungs are particularly sensitive, and it doesn't take much to trigger an asthma attack.

However, both men and women with airway hyperresponsiveness were still in the normal range for overall bone density, on average. And researchers couldn't say whether the asthma symptoms or the bone loss came first or what linked the two.

"Asthma could be a risk for bone loss. The degree to which their disease puts them at risk for bone loss and fractures needs to be further studied," Dr. Sonal Singh told Reuters Health.

"We should be thinking about fractures in patients with asthma," he said. "The study did make me think about the link between asthma and bone loss as I see my patients."

Singh, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, was not involved in the current research but has studied broken bones in people taking steroids for chronic obstructive lung disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 25 million Americans - or one in 12 - have asthma. The US Surgeon General in 2012 predicted that by 2020 half of Americans over age 50 could have weak bones.

For the new study, researchers led by Dr. Jae-Woo Jung of Seoul National University Medical Research Center analyzed the health records of 7,034 patients seen at their hospital.

They found average bone density was lower in the lumbar spine in the 216 people who tested positive for airway hyperresponsiveness.

The lumbar spine is the region between the ribs and the pelvis.

In addition, about 45 percent of those patients had osteopenia, or lower than normal bone density, and six percent had osteoporosis. That compared to a 30 percent rate of osteopenia and a four percent rate of osteoporosis among people without airway hyperresponsiveness, according to findings published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

The study also found a lower bone density in the lumbar spines of people who reported having been diagnosed with asthma than in people without asthma. But Singh said it was hard to know whether that was meaningful, because the researchers didn't measure asthma objectively.

Previous studies have found lower vitamin D levels among patients with asthma and related symptoms, the authors write.

They did not respond to a request for comment but speculate in the study that vitamin D deficiency might factor into bone loss among people with asthma and airway hyperresponsiveness.

The current study did not measure participants' vitamin D levels, so it can't say anything about the vitamin's link to asthma and bone loss.

Fractures are a known side effect of the systemic steroids used to treat asthma, Jung and colleagues write. Several studies have also tied inhaled steroids to decreased bone density, they note.

Steroids can decrease bone formation by stopping calcium from being absorbed. The drugs can also interfere with production of sex hormones, causing muscle weakness and raising the risk of falls and related fractures, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The NIH also says that people with asthma may avoid calcium-rich milk and other dairy products as well as weight-bearing exercise - key ingredients for bone health.

In the new study, the researchers excluded patients who had used systemic steroid medications. But the study did not consider participants' use of inhaled steroids or other drugs for control of asthma and related symptoms.

Singh said the study prompted him to want to examine asthma and bone loss in research considering ethnicity, physical activity, vitamin D levels and use of inhaled steroids. — Reuter

source: gmanetwork.com

MH370 co-pilot made mid-flight phone call — report

KUALA LUMPUR — The co-pilot of missing Malaysian airliner MH370 attempted to make a mid-flight call from his mobile phone just before the plane vanished from radar screens, a report said Saturday citing unnamed investigators.

The call ended abruptly possibly "because the aircraft was fast moving away from the (telecommunications) tower," The New Straits Times quoted a source as saying.

But the Malaysian daily also quoted another source saying that while Fariq Abdul Hamid's "line was reattached," there was no certainty that a call was made from the Boeing 777 that vanished on March 8.

The report -- titled a "desperate call for help" -- did not say who he was trying to contact.

Fariq and Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah have come under intense scrutiny after the plane mysteriously vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

Investigators last month indicated that the flight was deliberately diverted and its communication systems manually switched off as it was leaving Malaysian airspace, triggering a criminal investigation by police that has revealed little so far.

The fate of flight MH370 has been shrouded in mystery, with a number of theories put forward including a hijacking or terrorist attack and a pilot gone rogue.

There have been unconfirmed previous reports in the Malaysian media of calls by the captain before or during the flight but no details have been released.

The NST report said that Flight 370 flew low enough near Penang island on Malaysia's west coast -- after turning off course -- for a telecommunications tower to pick up the co-pilot's phone signal.

The phone line was "reattached" between the time the plane veered off course and blipped off the radar, the government-controlled paper quoted the second source as saying.

"A 'reattachment' does not necessarily mean that a call was made. It can also be the result of the phone being switched on again."

Malaysia's transport ministry told AFP that it was examining the NST report and will issue a response.

The Malaysian government and media have repeatedly contradicted each other and themselves over details of the search and criminal investigation. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Bradley’s trainer says Pacquiao’s ‘compassion’ will be his undoing

LAS VEGAS - As outspoken as Tim Bradley is, so is his trainer Joel Diaz.

Bradley's return bout with Manny Pacquiao this weekend, according to Diaz, will be the last in the colorful career of the Filipino ring icon, as he vowed another win for the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion.

"I think this will be Manny Pacquiao's last fight. Like everything in life, there is a beginning and an end. And I think this is Manny Pacquiao's end," he said.

Bradley's trainer said the legendary Filipino fighter's advanced age and lifestyle change has a lot to do with it.

A former world lightweight contender, Diaz said he's trained fighters who are both in the prime and at the end of their careers, and at 35-years-old, he said Pacquiao is obviously showing signs of slowing down.

"Common sense that Manny Pacquiao at his age, he's got a lot of wear and tear in his body. I don't remember when was the last time he had a knockout.” he said.

And becoming a devoted Christian also affected his performance inside the ring, according to Diaz, who observed the eight-time world champion become more compassionate to his opponents.

"If you're compassionate to your opponent, you don't belong in the sport, because this [boxing] is all about fighting, you have to execute against the opponent in front of you.

"But if you feel sorry for them, you don't belong here. Go find another sport, hopefully, golf or tennis," he said.

And Diaz guaranteed Bradley would try to take advantage of it, if Pacquiao becomes too considerate inside the ring on Saturday night (Sunday, Manila time).

"He's determined to show he can beat Manny Pacquiao," Bradley's trainer said. "You’re gonna see Bradley attack Manny Pacquiao. At his age, a young fighter like Tim Bradley can't be worn down. We have a lot for Manny on that night and I can see their worry and concern.

"He's gonna box, he's gonna brawl, it depends on what Manny Pacquiao brings every round. Every round I'll make adjustments, but you won't see Bradley backing down." - Gerry Ramos, SPIN

source: gmanetwork.com

 

Pacquiao eager for decisive win in Bradley rematch

LAS VEGAS - Manny Pacquiao wants a decisive victory over Timothy Bradley in their eagerly anticipated welterweight world title rematch Saturday (Sunday, PHL time) in Las Vegas as he bids to avenge a controversial loss two years ago.

America's Bradley, renowned for his amazing durability, snapped the Philippine icon's 15-fight unbeaten streak with a debatable split decision triumph in their first showdown on June 9, 2012.

The 30-year-old Bradley is out to prove he was deserving of the World Boxing Organization belt he seized that night and has since defended twice.

For Pacquiao, 35, whose loss to Bradley was followed by a sixth-round knockout defeat to Juan Manuel Marquez, it's imperative he prove his unanimous decision victory over Brandon Rios in his only fight of 2013 marked a real rebirth of his ring career.

"This is a 'must-win' situation for us," Pacquiao's Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach said.

Even though Roach and "Pacman" want a clear-cut victory, both said Pacquiao - who has had to fend off talk of retirement - can't go in aiming for a knockout.

Instead, they say he must press his attack consistently, avoiding the fallow minutes that apparently cost him the decision in the first Bradley fight, even though Pacquiao landed more punches and more power punches overall.

"I'm not thinking about a knockout," the Filipino said. "My focus is to throw a lot of punches. I'm going to be aggressive. If the knockout comes, it's a bonus."

Added Roach: "We're looking to win every round, one at a time."

'Manny can punch'

Southpaw Pacquiao, the only man to win world titles in eight weight divisions, staked his claim to boxing's pound-for-pound crown with a spate of impressive knockout victories in 2008 and 2009.

That included a ninth-round stoppage of David Diaz that proved Pacquiao could step up to lightweight and retain his fearsome power.

He went on to stop Oscar de la Hoya in a 2008 welterweight bout, and delivered a spectacular second-round knockout of Britain's Ricky Hatton in 2009.

Later that year, he punished Miguel Cotto en route to a 12th-round technical knockout in another welterweight bout - but Pacquiao hasn't finished off an opponent inside the distance since.

Debate has raged as to whether he has lost his knockout power, or perhaps become too "compassionate" towards opponents after a deepening of his Catholic faith.

"Manny can punch - he does have knockout power," Roach insisted Thursday (Friday, PHL time) as the fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena drew near.

If Pacquiao has held back out of compassion for his foes, Roach said he'd likely learned his lesson in his most recent defeats.

In the 2012 loss to Marquez, Pacquiao had the Mexican star on the canvas in the fifth round and in trouble in the sixth before Marquez connected for a stunning one-punch knockout.

Pacquiao, who owns a record 55-5 with two drawn and 38 knockouts, puts that defeat down to "carelessness."

However, it's given Bradley some boasting rights since the American has since edged Marquez in a duel between the last two men to beat Pacquiao.

That win over Marquez followed Bradley's 12-round decision over Ruslan Provodnikov, in which the American absorbed a massive amount of punishment before emerging triumphant.

'Tough guy'

Bradley's durability - on display against Provodnikov - is one reason not to seek a knock-out, Roach said.

"He's a very resilient, tough, tough guy," Roach said.

But Roach believes that Pacquiao has the skill to cope with Bradley's slick movement, and showed against Rios that he can still put together long combinations that will make the difference against the counter-punching Bradley.

"We're using a lot of angles and hopefully that will nullify his defense," Roach said. "We'll set traps, catch him on the ropes - when we have him on the ropes, Manny knows what to do."

And if the chance to knock out Bradley does come, Roach believes Pacquiao will take it without hesitation, fired by Bradley's pre-fight claim that Pacquiao had lost his "killer instinct."

"When we're on the mitts we talk sometimes about strategy and what's going to happen," Roach said.

"He told me one day, 'When I hurt him, this is the combination I'm going to finish him with.'

"I was so happy to hear that." - AFP

source: gmanetwork.com

IBM buys Internet marketing firm Silverpop

SAN FRANCISCO  - IBM on Thursday announced that it is buying Internet marketing firm Silverpop to enhance its portfolio of services for businesses out to target potential customers.

The technology veteran did not disclose financial terms of the deal to acquire Atlanta-based Silverpop, which specializes in pinpointing marketing messages based on real-time online activities from Web surfing to mobile device use or social networking.

"By engineering a solution that uniquely delivers personalization through automation, our team has solved one of the most complex challenges facing marketers today," Silverpop chief executive Bill Nussey said in a release.

Better targeted marketing translate into less annoying 'spam' messages, IBM reasoned. 


Silverpop and its easy-to-use tools will be added to IBM's suite of software offered as services in the Internet "cloud."

"Now, nearly any marketing, commerce or customer service professional from any business will have the ability to deliver the kinds of personalized customer experiences that make a measurable impact on the brand experience and the bottom line," IBM industry cloud services general manager Craig Hayman said in a release.

The take-over, if approved by regulators, was expected to be completed by mid-year.  — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Pro Bowl shifting to Arizona for 2015

The National Football League's 2015 Pro Bowl will be played in Arizona before returning to Hawaii in 2016, the league said on Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time) in the latest tweak to its all-star game.



University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale is slated to host the game on January 25, 2015 (Jan. 26, PHL time), one week before the Super Bowl for the 2014 season is played at the same venue.

In 2016, the Pro Bowl will return to Hawaii's Aloha Stadium, where it has been contested in 33 of the last 34 years.

The NFL has an agreement with Hawaii to play the Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium following the 2016 season but final confirmation of the game will be made at a later date.

The future of the Pro Bowl, which features the league's best players not involved in the following week's Super Bowl, was put in doubt in recent years amid criticism of being a glorified exhibition.

The 2014 Pro Bowl did away with the traditional AFC versus NFC matchup, and instead had players selected to teams without regard to conference in voting by fans, coaches and players. - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com