Energy groups say EU Commission lacks climate ambition

 EU policymakers have bowed to industry concerns about the cost of environment policy without even exploring the potential for deeper emissions cuts, green energy groups said in a letter to the European Commission.

The Commission, the EU executive, is expected to unveil in January its vision on 2030 energy and environment policy to follow 2020 goals on cutting carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency and increasing use of renewable power.

If the European Union succeeds in agreeing a 2030 carbon-cutting goal, it would be the first major bloc to do so ahead of a new global deal on climate change expected in 2015.

Source: Reuters

Shares, euro rattled but sterling drives higher

''World shares felled and the dollar strengthened on Monday, as investors waited for key U.S. data this week after a decent reading on China manufacturing and some mixed euro zone PMIs.

 Sterling hit a five-year high as optimism about Britain's recovery heightened expectations interest rates would soon rise from their record low.

It was a nervy start to the week on a number of fronts. Investors had plenty of possible excuses to put a lid on world stock markets and halt 8 straight weeks of gains on Wall Street.

Geopolitics got most of the headlines. Upheavals in Ukraine and Thailand escalated over the weekend. Tension grew between China and Japan over disputed islands in the South China Sea.

A decent reading on China manufacturing helped anchor Asian stocks, but Europe suffered turbulence early on. Stock markets lurched into the red and the euro backslid after gaining in Asia.

Buoyant demand for manufactured goods drove euro zone factory activity to accelerate at its fastest pace in over two years last month. But growth was still weak, and Markit, which compiles the Purchasing Managers' Indexes, said evidence of a renewed downturn in France and Spain - as well as firms cutting staff - was disappointing.

Britain's FTSE 100,Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 all opened higher but were soon nursing losses. Milan and Madrid suffered the most, tumbling 1.3 and 0.9 percent.

Debt markets told a similar story. Bonds from core euro zone countries such as Germany and the Netherlands lost ground. So did those from Italy and Spain, both countries on the periphery.

Source:   Reuters

China wants greater investment in UK, including HS2 and nuclear power

"China wants involvement in Britain's first high-speed rail line and an increased role in civil nuclear power, the country's premier said in Beijing after talks with David Cameron on the first day of the prime minister's visit.

ameron said the scale and pace of China's transformation dwarfed Britain's industrial revolution.

The remarks by Li follow a concerted effort by Britain to mend fences with Beijing after Cameron met the Dalai Lama last year. The prime minister said last week he would welcome Chinese involvement in HS2.

Li said Britain and China were indispensable and equal partners, noting the prime minister's recent approach to Beijing by acknowledging the territorial integrity of China – diplomatic code for accepting Beijing's rule over Tibet.

The prime minister opened his remarks at the Great Hall of the People by echoing Xi's call for a Chinese dream. The prime minister said: "China's transformation is one of the defining facts of our lifetime. The pace and scale of economic development and urbanisation dwarfs the British industrial revolution of two centuries ago. I see China's rise as an opportunity not just for the people of this country but for Britain and for the world.

"Britain wants China to realise its dream and I believe we can help each other succeed in the global race.

Cameron said last week that he would welcome Chinese involvement in HS2. The prime minister said during a visit to a Chinese exhibition at the V&A: "I’m very interested in what’s happening in terms of high-speed rail in China.

"In terms of HS2, I very much welcome Chinese investment into British infrastructure. We see already Chinese investment into Heathrow Airport, into Manchester Airport and, of course, into Hinkley Point nuclear power stations."

Backgrounder: Human exploration of the Moon

Human history has seen 129 attempts to reach the moon, in a bid to know more about our earth's nearest neighbour in space. The success rate is just 51%.

Exploration of the Moon began in 1959, when the former Soviet Union’s Luna 2 probe became the first man-made object to reach moon surface.

American astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the Moon. That was in 1969, and it also marked the first time humans stood physically on a celestial object other than Earth.

The European Space Agency’s first mission to the moon ended when the Smart One lunar space probe completed its 3-year voyage after it impacted an open plain on moon’s surface.

And Japan’s first success was in 2009, when its first lunar probe made a controlled crash landing on the moon, it had aimed to map the moon’s surface and study its mineral distribution while orbiting the moon.

Source: CCTV

Abe, Onodera deny discord with U.S. over China ADIZ

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera stressed Sunday that Tokyo and Washington are in accord over their responses to China's recently established air defense identification zone over the East China Sea.

In Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Abe told reporters that the Japanese government has confirmed through diplomatic channels that the United States has not requested U.S. commercial airlines to give prior notices to China for flights in the Chinese ADIZ.On Friday, the U.S. Department of State issued a statement that Washington "generally expects that U.S. carriers operating internationally will operate consistent with NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen) issued by foreign countries," showing Washington's tolerance of commercial airlines informing China in advance about flights in the air defense zone.

Source: NewsOnJapan

Japan seeks Int'l Civil Aviation Organization's involvement

The Japanese Foreign Ministry says Tokyo has proposed that the International Civil Aviation Organization consider how to address the issue of China's new air defense identification zone over the East China Sea.

Japan put forward the proposal on Friday in Canada at a meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the international aviation regulatory body and agency of the United Nations.

Japan said China’s move could threaten the order and safety of international civil aviation. China has opposed the proposal.

On Friday, China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force identified and verified US and Japan’s military planes entering the zone. China’s new Air Defense Identification Zone requires aircraft to report their flight plans and identify themselves while flying through the Chinese zone.

Source: CCTV

Chinese Experts, Cairo Declaration means, all the territories Japan had stolen from the Chinese shall be restored to the Chinese.

Marking the 70th anniversary of the Cairo Declaration, Chinese experts have stressed that terms of the document shall be observed and carried out.

Japan is obliged to make concrete efforts to implement the Cairo Declaration and its performance will also be a display of the country's credit and reputation in international society, said an article under the byline of international affairs expert Luo Yuan in the Sunday edition of People's Daily, flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China.

On Dec. 1 1943, China, the United States and Britain issued the Cairo Declaration which explicitly stated that all the territories Japan had stolen from the Chinese shall be restored to the Chinese, and that Japan will be expelled from all other territories it had taken by violence and greed.

The Potsdam Proclamation in 1945 reaffirmed that "the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out."

All through the past 70 years, the declaration acts as an important international document in handling Japan's aggression issue and ensuring peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region, Luo wrote.

The declaration showcased the common will and unity of the anti-fascist alliance to stop and punish the aggression as well as their efforts to prevent the resurgence of Japan's aggressive force and safeguard the achievements in the anti-fascist war, he said in the article.

Also, Luo said the document has been acting as a definitive cornerstone to maintain the post-war peace order in relevant regions and identify Japanese sovereignty.

The declaration confirmed China's sovereign rights over the territories stolen by Japan, which covered the Diaoyu Islands, Liu Jiangyong, deputy dean with the Institute of Modern International Relations of Tsinghua University, told Xinhua.

The authority of the document and its binding force should be everlasting and its principles shall be defended and practiced, Liu said.

Zhou Yongsheng, a professor with China Foreign Affairs University, said the Japanese government's move to challenge China's sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands is an open defiance to key post-war international documents and peace order.

Japan's provocative behaviors revealed that the country is attempting to restore its military power, said Wu Enyuan, an international expert and former director of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

Moreover, the U.S. is using the Diaoyu Islands issue as a strategic instrument to contain China and seek hegemony in Asia, Wu said.

These acts have brought about new security uncertainty to the Asia-Pacific region as well as the entire world, the scholar said.

The Japanese government accepted the Potsdam Proclamation in the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, and in the China-Japan joint statement issued in 1972, it also promised to "earnestly implement Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation."

"To defend its credit, the Japanese government is obliged to perform its promises to international society," Luo said.

The experts also called on people around the world to unite and urge relevant countries to stop undermining regional peace and stability.

"A responsible country should not forget the intention of the Cairo Declaration and should guard against the revival of Japanese militarism," said Yang Bojiang, another CASS scholar.

A forum was held in Beijing on Sunday to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Cairo Declaration.

The forum was jointly held by the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots (ACFTC) and its Beijing branch as well as the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Liang Guoyang, vice chairman of ACFTC, said the history about Taiwan being occupied by the Japanese and its return to China's sovereignty affirmed the fact that the island is an indivisible part of China.

Liang said any attempt to advocate "Taiwan independence" and cast doubt on the binding force of the declaration will achieve nothing.

Li Li, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the Cairo Declaration is also legal evidence to identify the ownership of the Diaoyu Islands as the document explicitly stated that all the territories Japan had stolen from the Chinese shall be restored to the Chinese.

Cairo Declaration required return of Chinese territory

Sunday marks the 70th anniversary of the Cairo Declaration, which called for the unconditional surrender of Japan, and the return of all its occupied territories, including the Diaoyu Islands.

The Declaration asked Japan to return Northeast China, Taiwan and the Pescadores Island chain. The Pescadores includes the Diaoyu Islands, which are part of a long running territorial dispute between China and Japan.

The document was signed in 1943 by China, the US and the UK. The declaration developed ideas from the 1941 Atlantic Charter, which was issued by the Allies of World War Two to set goals for the post-war order.

Source: CCTV

A Sony prepara um novo dispositivo portátil, a "SmartWig"

''A Sony prepara um novo dispositivo portátil, a "SmartWig", uma "peruca inteligente" que se encontra em fase experimental e é capaz de oferecer tecnologia GPS, aplicações médicas e conexão com smartphones.

Segundo confirmou nesta quinta-feira (28) à Agência Efe em Tóquio uma porta-voz da Sony Computer Science Laboratories, filial encarregada do desenvolvimento do produto, a "peruca inteligente" se encontra em "fase experimental" e por enquanto os planos da companhia em relação a sua possível comercialização ainda são desconhecidos.

A "SmartWig" será um "dispositivo de computação portátil, formado por uma peruca que se encaixa para cobrir pelo menos uma parte da cabeça do usuário" e contará com sensores de entrada de dados, uma unidade de processamento e um interface para se comunicar, segundo detalha a patente apresentada pela companhia nos Estados Unidos.

Todos os mecanismos estarão escondidos dentro da "peruca" e permitirão várias funcionalidades através do uso de pequenos motores de vibração em cada uma das suas partes, que permitirão transmitir, por exemplo, coordenadas GPS de um destino estabelecido antes em um computador.

Além disso, a "SmartWig" servirá também para medir a temperatura e a pressão sanguínea do usuário, o que abre a possibilidade de oferecer aplicações de controle de saúde.

O dispositivo também permitirá que o usuário se conecte a um smartphone e seja notificado quando receber chamadas telefônicas e um novo e-mail''.

Fonte: Fohla de Sao Paulo

Chang´e-3 lunar probe heading to the moon CCTV

The Chang´e-3, named after a Chinese lunar goddess, is China’s first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon. It comprises a lander and a moon rover called "Yutu" (Jade Rabbit). The Chang´e-3 mission is the second phase of China´s lunar program, which includes orbiting, landing and returning to Earth. It follows the success of the Chang´e-1 and Chang´e-2 missions in 2007 and 2010. The launch of China´s lunar probe Chang´e-3 was "successful".

Google lancia la sua edicola digitale

I rumors la davano in arrivo da tempo ed ecco che si manifesta: è Newsstand, l’edicola digitale di Google con cui Mountain View colma il gap che nel settore la separava da Apple, che aveva lanciato la su Edicola su iPad tempo fa.
Newsstand, Edicola in italiano, è un’app per smartphone e tablet Android disponibile su Google Play Store che riunisce tutte le fonti di notizie preferite in un’unica esperienza. Attraverso Edicola ci si può iscrivere a riviste, blog e giornali: Google li ottimizza perché siano leggibili meglio da tablet o mobile. È possibile accedere agli articoli anche senza collegamento Internet (offline) o inserire un segnalibro per rimandare la lettura.
Google Play Newsstand partirà per ora nei Paesi anglofoni: Stat Uniti, Canada, Gran Bretagna e Australia. Nel complesso offrirà da subito 1.900 pubblicazioni, gratuite e a pagamento. Sono compresi grandi nomi dell’informazione che parla inglese come The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, The National Post. Di fatto Edicola va a sostituire l’attuale Google Currents. L’upgrade tra le due app sarà automatico, tutte le sottoscrizioni saranno trasferite automaticamente e i giornali e siti preferiti saranno immediatamente pronti per essere letti.

Corriere della Sera

Redes sociais levarão à liberalização da China, diz diretor do Google

''O crescimento das mídias sociais na China levará à liberalização do país, enquanto mais e mais pessoas acessam a internet e o governo chinês se vê sem poderes para lutar contra as mudanças, disse nesta segunda-feira (25) Eric Schmidt, presidente do Conselho do Google.

Falando em uma conferência em Londres, Schmidt citou um encontro com o presidente Xi Jinping e o primeiro-ministro Li Keqiang este mês, algumas semanas depois de a China aprovar regulações mais duras para as redes sociais. Sob as novas regras, as pessoas enfrentarão punições mais rígidas caso sejam responsabilizadas por "rumores online" que forem publicados mais de 500 vezes.

"O mais interessante na conversa com o governo, do presidente até os governadores, é que eles estão obcecados com a internet, por isso aprovaram essas leis", disse Schmidt durante a conferência, organizada pela entidade independente Chatham House.

O executivo não deu detalhes das conversas com as autoridades chinesas.

Em 2010, o Google retirou seu serviço de busca online da China, a segunda maior economia do mundo, citando crescente censura, e agora opera de Hong Kong.

Mas a alta popularidade de serviços como Weibo --um serviço de microblog que é a versão chinesa do Twitter-- e do aplicativo de mensagens instantâneas WeChat tornarão a censura cada vez mais difícil, disse Schmidt''.

"Você simplesmente não pode prender todos os chineses quando todos eles concordam com algo", disse. "Você não será capaz de interromper isso, mesmo que queira, e isso causará uma liberalização."

Fonte: Fohla de Sao Paulo

Investors poured $31.6 billion into equity funds in November

 "Investors poured $31.6 billion (19.3 billion pounds) into all equity mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in November, favoring equities over bonds for a sixth straight month, data from TrimTabs Investment Research showed on Sunday.

However, flows into equities moderated from October, with flows into exchange traded funds picking up, and investors favored U.S. equity funds over offshore funds.

"Equity fund flows shifted in two key ways last month," said TrimTabs chief executive David Santschi. "First, inflows were not as strong as they were in October, when all equity mutual funds and ETFs received $53.2 billion, the fourth-highest monthly inflow on record. Second, they were not skewed heavily toward offshore stocks.

The average U.S. equity fund gained 5.8 percent over the period, beating the average global equity fund, which gained 2.4 percent in the past two months.

U.S. equity funds and exchange-traded funds attracted $17.5 billion, compared to $14.1 billion that flowed into global equity mutual funds and ETFs.

Investors kept dumping bonds, redeeming $21.8 billion from bond mutual funds and ETFs, the biggest outflow since $36.8 billion in August and the fifth-highest monthly outflow on record. Four of the six biggest monthly outflows from bond funds have happened this year, TrimTabs noted.

The S&P 500  is up 27 percent so far this year. TrimTabs said indicators point to a rise in equity markets to the end of the year".

Source: Reuters

Biden mission to defuse tensions between Japan and China?

''U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will try to strike a delicate balance of calming military tensions with China while supporting ally Japan against Beijing on a trip to Asia this week that is being overshadowed by a territorial dispute in the East China Sea.

Aiming to counter criticism that the United States is neglecting Asia because it is distracted by domestic politics and the Middle East, the White House has long been planning a visit by Biden to Japan,China and South Korea.

Those countries are at the heart of a quarrel over two tiny islands claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing that descended into military brinkmanship after China in late November declared an "air defense identification zone" that includes the islands''.

Source: Reuters

It will be difficult to achieve the double mission of trying to keep away from the islands dispute,and reassure to Japan that their military alliance is still in place and keep smiling with  the Chinese, knowing by the events up to date, that the US is already on Japan's side. Or not?

Holiday weekend sales dip on discounts; e-commerce jumps

''Heavy discounting took a toll on U.S. retail sales during the Thanksgiving weekend as shoppers spent almost 3 percent less than they did a year earlier, according to data released Sunday by an industry group.

That could be an indication of a more difficult season for many retailers. One bright spot this weekend, according to the data, was e-commerce as online sales soared.

The National Retail Federation estimated the average shopper spent $407.02 over the weekend, or 3.9 percent less than during the same weekend last year, because of lower prices it said would persist through the rest of the season.

"Retailers will continue to aggressively promote their in-store and online offerings, looking to entice today's very budget-conscious and value-focused shopper," said NRF Chief Executive Matthew Shay.

The NRF said 141 million people went shopping at least once during the holiday weekend, up from 139 million last year. But total spending was expected to reach $57.4 billion for the four-day period - which includes Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year - down 2.8 percent from $59.1 billion over the same weekend in 2012''.

Source; Reuters

Australian home price growth slows in November

"An index of home prices for Australia's major cities rose only marginally in November, a slowdown after two months of strong gains that should temper concerns about a bubble, industry data showed on Monday.

Figures from property consultant RP Data-Rismark showed overall dwelling prices rose 0.1 percent in November, from October when they climbed 1.3 percent.

Annual growth in its home price index edged up to 8.0 percent, a three-year high, from 7.9 percent in October. Gains were led by Sydney where prices were up 12.5 percent on November last year, while Perth recorded growth of 8.9 percent and Melbourne 6.6 percent''.

Source: Reuters

Egypt tweaks roadmap, may see presidential vote held first

"Egypt's political transition was pitched into uncertainty on Sunday when a draft constitution was amended to allow a presidential election to be held before parliamentary polls, indicating a potential change in the army's roadmap.

The roadmap unveiled when the military ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July said a parliamentary election should take place before the presidential one.

But the draft finalised on Sunday by the 50-member constitutent assembly avoids saying which vote should happen first, leaving the decision up to President Adly Mansour, seen as a front for army rule since he was installed to head the interim administration.

The draft also says the "election procedures" must start within six months of the constitution's ratification, meaning Egypt may not have an elected president and parliament until the second half of next year.

A major milestone in Egypt's political roadmap, the constitution must be approved in a referendum expected this month or next. Amr Moussa, chairman of the constituent assembly, said the draft constitution would be handed to Mansour on Tuesday''.

Source: Reuters

Ukrainians stage mass rally against Yanukovich's U-turn on Europe

"Ukrainian opposition leaders called on Sunday for President Viktor Yanukovich and his government to resign at a huge pro-Europe rally of about 350,000 people, marred by violent clashes between protesters and riot police.

In the biggest protest in the capital Kiev since the "Orange Revolution" of nine years ago, opposition leaders denounced Yanukovich for walking away from a pact offered by the European Union and swinging trade policy back towardRussia.

The opposition urged people to demonstrate peacefully and avoid being provoked by the authorities into antagonising police.

But violence erupted nonetheless with police using tear gas and stun grenades near the presidential administration. Police later clashed with a group of masked protesters trying to pull down a monument to Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians swept on to Kiev's Independence Square, chanting "Down with the Gang!" and waving the Ukrainian flag and EU standard, in condemnation of Yanukovich's U-turn away from the EU.

After months of pressure from Russia, Yanukovich last month suddenly back-pedalled from signing a deal, long in the making, on closer relations with the EU in favour of renewed economic dialogue with Moscow, Ukraine's former Soviet master".

Source: Reuters

Italian doctor may have found surprisingly simple cure for Multiple Sclerosis

"An Italian doctor has been getting dramatic results with a new type of treatment for Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, which affects up to 2.5 million people worldwide. In an initial study, Dr. Paolo Zamboni took 65 patients with relapsing-remitting MS, performed a simple operation to unblock restricted bloodflow out of the brain - and two years after the surgery, 73% of the patients had no symptoms. Dr. Zamboni's thinking could turn the current understanding of MS on its head, and offer many sufferers a complete cure''.
''Multiple sclerosis, or MS, has long been regarded as a life sentence of debilitating nerve degeneration. 

It's generally accepted that there's no cure for MS, only treatments that mitigate the symptoms - but a new way of looking at the disease has opened the door to a simple treatment that is causing radical improvements in a small sample of sufferers''.

Italian Dr. Paolo Zamboni has put forward the idea that many types of MS are actually caused by a blockage of the pathways that remove excess iron from the brain - and by simply clearing out a couple of major veins to reopen the blood flow, the root cause of the disease can be eliminated.

Dr. Zamboni's revelations came as part of a very personal mission - to cure his wife as she began a downward spiral after diagnosis. Reading everything he could on the subject, Dr. Zamboni found a number of century-old sources citing excess iron as a possible cause of MS. It happened to dovetail with some research he had been doing previously on how a buildup of iron can damage blood vessels in the legs - could it be that a buildup of iron was somehow damaging blood vessels in the brain?

He immediately tested with the ultrasound machine to see if the idea had any merit - and made a staggering discovery. More than 90% of people with MS have some sort of malformation or blockage in the veins that drain blood from the brain. Including, as it turned out, his wife.

  How could this blockage led to MS? Iron builds up in the brain, blocking and damaging these crucial blood vessels. As the vessels rupture, they allow both the iron itself, and immune cells from the bloodstream, to cross the blood-brain barrier into the cerebro-spinal fluid. Once the immune cells have direct access to the immune system, they begin to attack the myelin sheathing of the cerebral nerves - Multiple Sclerosis develops.

He named the problem Chronic Cerebro-Spinal Venous Insufficiency, or CCSVI.

Zamboni immediately scheduled his wife for a simple operation to unblock the veins - a catheter was threaded up through blood vessels in the groin area, all the way up to the effected area, and then a small balloon was inflated to clear out the blockage. It's a standard and relatively risk-free operation - and the results were immediate. In the three years since the surgery, Dr. Zamboni's wife has not had an attack.

Widening out his study, Dr. Zamboni then tried the same operation on a group of 65 MS-sufferers, identifying blood drainage blockages in the brain and unblocking them - and more than 73% of the patients are completely free of the symptoms of MS, two years after the operation.

Dr. Zamboni's treatment is yet to be accepted by the medical community, which is traditionally slow to accept revolutionary ideas. Still, most agree that while further study needs to be undertaken before this is looked upon as a cure for MS, the results thus far have been very positive.

Source:   Gizmag

New nanoparticle opens doorway to oral treatment of chronic diseases

"Most of us would swallow a pill before being poked by a needle, yet sufferers of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and cancer are regularly required to administer their medicine intravenously. A team of researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) has developed a new type of nanoparticle that could afford patients the choice – potentially making uncomfortable injections a thing of the past in the treatment of a range of chronic diseases''.

"Nanoparticles carrying drugs or short interfering RNA have shown great potential for the treatment of a variety of diseases, including cancer. If taken orally, however, they need to cross the intestinal lining into the bloodstream. This lining consists of a layer of epithelial cells that come together to form a barrier that is impenetrable to the nanoparticles, thereby necessitating the use of injections to be an effective form of treatment.

In developing the new nanoparticle, the researchers led by Omid Farokhzad MD built on previous research revealing how babies absorb antibodies from their mother's milk. When ingested, these antibodies attach themselves to a cell surface receptor called FcRN, which allows them to slip through into the bloodstream through the otherwise impenetrable cellular barrier.

As FcRN receptors are also found in adult intestinal cells, coating the nanoparticles with Fc proteins (the part of the antibody that attaches to the FcRN receptor) and administering them orally in mice, caused the particles to grab hold of the FcRN in the intestinal lining and gained them and their payload entry into the bloodstream.

"It illustrates a very general concept where we can use these receptors to traffic nanoparticles that could contain pretty much anything," said Rohit Karnik, MIT Associate Professor and one of the study's authors. "Any molecule that has difficulty crossing the barrier could be loaded in the nanoparticle and trafficked across."

Using the same principle, the researchers are hopeful of designing nanoparticles with the ability to cross other barriers, which could be used to treat other conditions, such as arthritis and high cholesterol.

"If you can penetrate the mucosa in the intestine, maybe next you can penetrate the mucosa in the lungs, maybe the blood-brain barrier, maybe the placental barrier," says Farokhzad.

Source: Gizmag

Dilma cresce e oposição encolhe, aponta Datafolha

"De junho para cá, os pré-candidatos a presidente fizeram o possível para recuperar a popularidade perdida por causa do abalo provocado pelas manifestações de rua em todo país. Por enquanto, só a presidente Dilma Rousseff segue em trajetória ascendente. A oposição oscila entre bons e maus momentos, e agora encolheu um pouco mais, segundo o Datafolha".

"Dilma ou seu antecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, ambos do PT, lideram a corrida presidencial em todos os cenários mais prováveis para 2014 --o Datafolha testou nove combinações de nomes.

A presidente pontua de 41% a 47%, dependendo de quem são seus adversários. Lula oscila de 52% a 56%".

O Datafolha entrevistou 4.557 pessoas em 194 municípios na quinta e na sexta-feira. A margem de erro máxima é de dois pontos percentuais, para mais ou para menos''.

Fonte: Folha de Sao Paulo

Italian doctor may have found surprisingly simple cure for Multiple Sclerosis

An Italian doctor has been getting dramatic results with a new type of treatment for Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, which affects up to 2.5 million people worldwide. In an initial study, Dr. Paolo Zamboni took 65 patients with relapsing-remitting MS, performed a simple operation to unblock restricted bloodflow out of the brain - and two years after the surgery, 73% of the patients had no symptoms. Dr. Zamboni's thinking could turn the current understanding of MS on its head, and offer many sufferers a complete cure.

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, has long been regarded as a life sentence of debilitating nerve degeneration. More common in females, the disease affects an estimated 2.5 million people around the world, causing physical and mental disabilities that can gradually destroy a patient's quality of life.

It's generally accepted that there's no cure for MS, only treatments that mitigate the symptoms - but a new way of looking at the disease has opened the door to a simple treatment that is causing radical improvements in a small sample of sufferers.

Source: Gizmag

Samsung plans to outspend Iceland's GDP on advertising and marketing

"Samsung Electronics is expected to spend around $14bn - more than Iceland's GDP - on advertising and marketing this year, but it doesn't always get value for money''. 

''The outlay buys the South Korean technology giant publicity in TV and cinema ads, on billboards, and at sports and arts events from the Sydney Opera House to New York's Radio City Music Hall. Google spent less on buying Motorola's handset business.

And Samsung, which has a market value of $227bn, has made no secret of keeping up its aggressive marketing and promotion splurge as it seeks to make its brand as aspirational as Apple's. But the money it's spending doesn't always bring the desired result.

Last month, a Samsung-sponsored short-film contest finale at the Sydney Opera House received poor reviews for blatant product placement in a series of 'behind the scenes' videos. 

Earlier this year, Samsung's New York launch of its latest top-of-the-range Galaxy smartphone came under fire for being sexist, portraying giggling women chatting about jewelery and nail polish while the men discussed the new phone, and the company's new fridge and washing machine launch in South Africa drew similar complaints  as it featured female dancers in swimsuits''.

"Samsung's marketing is too much focused on projecting an image they aspire to: being innovative and ahead of the pack," said Oh Jung-suk, associate professor at the business school of Seoul National University. "They are failing to efficiently bridge the gap between the aspiration and how consumers actually respond to the campaign. It's got to be more aligned."

Samsung spends a bigger chunk of its annual revenue on advertising and promotion than any other of the world's top 20 companies by sales: 5.4%, according to Thomson Reuters data. Apple spends just 0.6%, and General Motors 3.5%.

"When your brand doesn't have a clear identity, as is the case with Samsung, to keep spending is probably the best strategy," said Moon Ji-hun, head of brand consultant Interbrand's Korean operation. "But maintaining marketing spend at that level in the longer term wouldn't bring much more benefit. No one can beat Samsung in terms of (ad) presence, and I doubt whether keeping investing at this level is effective."

Source: theguardian

UK: With inflation at 2.7% annual. The money held in the vast majority of savings products is losing maney in real terms

Looking at the government's Funding for Lending scheme, it is easy to spot who has lost out: savers. But there is emerging hope that rock-bottom returns are finally drawing to a close following a Bank of England announcement that the scheme will refocus on businesses from January, and away from mortgages.

The scheme, launched in August 2012, offered banks and building societies access to cheap funds to encourage them to lend, and resulted in mortgage rates falling to record lows as lenders competed to offer the cheapest fixed-rate deals. However, giving banks access to around £80bn of cheap funding also reaped havoc on the savings market, as providers no longer felt they had to attract consumers' cash.

Returns plunged across the market, with the average rate on an instant access account sinking from 1.5% to just 0.67%, according to data provider Moneyfacts.co.uk.

This is despite the fact that the BoE base rate has remained at 0.5% for more than four-and-a-half years. With inflation currently running at 2.7%, money held in the vast majority of savings products is losing money in real terms once tax and inflation have been taken into account.

Andrew Hagger from website MoneyComms, says: "The scheme has impacted savers far more seriously than anyone could have imagined. We now have a situation where to beat the best rate on a one-year bond at 3.45% available before Funding for Lending was introduced, for example, you have to lock your cash away for seven years to get 3.5% with Skipton building society or First Save – a transformation of the savings landscape in just 16 months."

Source: theguardian

Il lamento sconsolato del notaio: «Il viagra ha rivoluzionato i testamenti»

«Ho visto espressioni indimenticabili alla lettura dei testamenti. Succede, quando il Caro Estinto lascia tutto a un figlio di cui la famiglia ufficiale non conosce l’esistenza. Oppure quando compare il nome della sua giovane badante, fino a quel momento tenuta in tinello a debita distanza. E’ un fatto che da quando esiste il Viagra, l’apertura dei testamenti si è rivoluzionata». Jean-Paul Decorps, presidente dell’Uinl, l’Unione internazionale dei notai, sorride, ma non tira indietro la mano. La pillolina blu ha effetti dirompenti anche fuori dalle lenzuola. Confonde abitudini arcaiche, cambia i ruoli, rischia di mettere in subbuglio l’economia.
E’ una realtà che affiora negli studi notarili come nei romanzi. Nell’ultimo libro di Vargas Llosa, Un héroe discreto (ed. Alfaguara) un ricco assicuratore annuncia di voler sposare la cameriera Armida e spiega all’amico: «Se proprio vuoi saperlo, ce la passiamo splendidamente a letto. Per essere preciso uso il Viagra solo qualche volta, quasi non ne ho bisogno». Lo scopo delle nozze è soprattutto di far dispetto al figlio togliendogli parte dell’eredità. Viagra e testamento. Testamento e Viagra.
   La pastiglia del sesso fa parte di una rivoluzione sanitaria che sta stravolgendo i bilanci degli istituti pensionistici del mondo occidentale.
  Si vive di più, gli anni da trascorrere solo nel ricordo di quello che si è stati sono diventati troppi, la salute permette di godere di un’altra vita dopo la pensione, ma anche dopo la vedovanza o dopo l’ennesimo divorzio.
Poi c’è la crisi della famiglia tradizionale. I figli non sono disponibili o non possono accudire gli anziani. Le case sono troppo piccole per accogliere famiglie attive e vecchi assieme. I figli sono spesso troppo vecchi per curare i genitori. Ecco allora che il patrimonio accumulato nella vita lavorativa assume un altro significato. Non è più l’ultimo dono alla generazione successiva, ma uscendo dalla sfera dell’ordine economico, del mantenimento della stabilità sociale (dell’onore del blasone si sarebbe detto in altri tempi), finisce per entrare nella sfera delle necessità personali. Così il conto corrente, i Bot, le proprietà diventano spendibili invece che trasmissibili.
Le scene come quelle raccontate a La Vanguardia dal dottor Decorps, a capo di un’associazione che raggruppa 200mila professionisti in 83 collegi notarili nel mondo, non sono ormai una rarità. «Le lacrime dell’erede non bagnano il fazzoletto», ricorda con una vecchia massima Decorps, ma oggigiorno rischiamo non solo di non avere lacrime, ma neppure eredi. Nelle nuove norme catalane si è inserito, ad esempio, un inedito «patto generazionale» («lascio i beni a chi mi cura») che per certi versi ricorda i patti matrimoniali di moda tra i miliardari americani. Sono state introdotte anche diverse varianti per dare la possibilità di intaccare il principio della legittima, quella quota per legge destinata ai parenti di primo grado che in Italia, nel caso di moglie e due figli, è pari al 75% del patrimonio.

Corriere della Sera