In just latest of many head-turning exploits, the Syrian Electronic Army now says it's broken into Barack Obama's Twitter account and website. Indeed, the hacker organization showed images of the website's backend and Obama campaign email accounts.
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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/eg9GbvAljBs/the-syrian-electronic-army-says-its-hacked-obamas-twi-1453486504Canal Plus, Photographer: Rob Payne
"The Returned" on Sundance Channel
In a bucolic French town, the dead are returning. But they don't look like zombies. And they don't all know that they're dead. This creates a lot of emotional problems for their loved one and ends up being one of the most beautiful and disturbing series of the year.
Oct. 31, 9 p.m., Sundance Channel (eight episodes, every Thursday).
Yara Pilartz, Jenn Thiam, Anne Consigny, Frederic Pierott, Samir Guesme, Swann Nambotin, Clotilde Hesme, Pierre Perrier, Jean-Francois Sivadier, Celine Sallette, Alix Poisson, Gulliaume Gouix, Gregor Gadebois
Fabrice Gobert
As if there wasn’t enough great television made in America, overwhelming the masses with viewing decisions, clogging up DVRs and allowing critics to champion this continued Renaissance, it’s also pretty clear that the rest of the world is churning out amazing series as well.
We’re all going to need longer days.
On the heels of the wonderful Ireland-based comedy Moone Boy and the brilliant, dark British mystery Broadchurch comes The Returned, an eight-part French series described as a zombie series but one that’s completely unrecognizable -- in a mesmerizing way -- from the genre.
PHOTOS: Hollywood's 12 Best Zombie Flicks
The Returned, like Broadchurch before it, is one of those series where you watch the first hour and then frantically try to find time to devour the next seven. Defying expectations while rewiring what a “zombie” series can be, The Returned is one of the most intriguing, utterly original offerings of the year.
And while it’s not particularly keen to give out pat answers or, for that matter, many answers at all, that’s all part of what makes the series so oddly magnetic. (A second season will air in 2014.)
Although The Returned will debut on the Sundance Channel on Halloween, don’t go into it thinking you’ll find the French version of The Walking Dead, which airs on Sundance’s sister channel, AMC. Nope. As fantastic as the notion might be for a truly French zombie culture, The Returned deals in a whole different set of creepiness and is, in many ways, far more unsettling.
Set in a bucolic, rural French town, The Returned is based on the 2004 movie They Came Back (Les Revenants) and posits that the dead are indeed returning home, unexpectedly, seemingly whole and out of nowhere (meaning no rotting flesh, no outward signs of wanting to eat anyone’s flesh, although they are incredibly hungry). The series begins with a heartbreaking and bizarre bus crash four years earlier that kills dozens of the town’s young children. It then moves to present day, as Camille (Yara Pilartz) walks up a steep embankment and on to the road leading to town. We know she was one of the girls on the bus, and yet she seems perfectly fine.
Co-written and directed by Fabrice Gobert, the series is instantly riveting precisely because it’s not your standard zombie fare and mostly because viewers have no idea what Gobert is up to. Being French, he’s clearly more interested in the existential aspects of life (and death, of course) and the immensely complicated notions of loss, love, family, hope, fear and that most beguiling and dangerous of all things, the unknown.
In almost no time, The Returned announces itself as smartly written, superbly cast and tremendously unsettling. Camille takes a very long walk back into town and does what probably anyone else would do -- she goes home. She doesn’t know that her home has been shattered by her death. Her father, Jerome (Frederic Pierott), went into a drinking spiral that led to separation from his wife, Claire (Anne Consigny), who has found a way to cope with her devastating loss by falling for Pierre (Jean-Francois Sivadier), a religious man and grief counselor whose Helping Hand shelter takes in all who need it.
Of course, the moment that Claire hears something in the kitchen and walks downstairs to find Camille making a sandwich like nothing’s happened, the world of Claire, Jerome and Pierre gets upended, as do the lives of others in the small town as a few other mysterious dead residents return home.
What Gobert gets to -- and sticks with -- quickly is the depiction of what witnessing the unbelievable really does to you when that revelation involves a loved one. Camille has been dead for four years and, like other parents, Claire has been praying and grieving about the loss ever since. And then, voila, there’s Camille.
But nothing is that easy, right? The Returned deftly nails all the emotions you’d imagine and doesn’t gloss over them. It’s not like Claire and Jerome are just going to freak out for five minutes and then be fine about it. They are, for a very long time, spooked out and also overcome with happiness simultaneously. And they are well aware that it’s not like they can just go to the market with Camille. Pierre realizes this is some kind of miracle, but you get the sense that he’s been expecting it and perhaps planning for it (he has, but not in ways your cynical mind might leap to).
And that’s what keeps The Returned so fresh. It’s not afraid of smart (and yes, sometimes dubious) twists. The one that cements the feeling you’re in good hands (and also in for a strange and mystifying journey) comes when Camille’s rebellious sister, Lena (Jenna Thiam), comes home from the Lake Pub, where much of the town goes to drink, and has a refreshingly real and harrowing freak-out upon seeing Camille.
PHOTOS: The Evolution of Zombie Films
And who wouldn’t? Claire, the mother, couldn’t unravel upon seeing Camille for fear of making Camille, who has no idea that anything’s wrong, perhaps flee like a startled bird or something. Jerome, the father, has a wonderfully subtle sense of shock where you get the feeling he’s worried that he’s either drunk or in a dream state and any kind of flip-out on his part will shatter the illusion and return him to a world where Camille is dead.
But Lena has no such adult worries. She flat-out goes breathless and screams. A natural reaction to an unexpected resurrection. And Gobert takes his sweet time revealing that the girls are twins, which sublimely expands Lena’s horrified vision of her younger self.
The Returned is full of such elements. Each episode takes one character in town (some who have died and returned, others simply relatives, old friends or lovers of the dead or, more cleverly, victims of their past behaviors while living) and flashes back on what happened. The series has a pretty tangled web -- not all of it works, but the effort is always intriguing.
For instance, among the stories, one that is the most heartfelt, mysterious and creepy is that of a young boy (Swann Nambotin) who shows up in town but won’t speak. We learn that (unseen in the first episode) it was him standing in the road, just around a corner, that caused the bus crash that killed all the kids. And he’s taken in by Julie (Celine Sallette), a nurse, who tries to find the missing boy’s parents but nobody has reported him missing. He's like a dog she can’t get rid of, so Julie ends up taking him in and calling him “Victor.” Ah, but that kid is all kinds of mute oddness and viewers know either something very bad has happened to him or he’s done something very bad to others. And yet…wow, is he adorable.
The Victor storyline is a real marvel of ambition and Gobert is able to place the boy in a number of intermingled stories. A less successful introduction is Serge (Guillaume Gouix), one of the returned. Serge was actually a serial killer in the town and his first victim -- who survived, though barely -- was Julie, the nurse. You can applaud The Returned for its ambitiousness, however, because even when the main tenet of an idea doesn’t work (a serial killer is like three cherries on top of a large sundae when it comes to all the disturbing elements in this series), the Julie story is particularly moving because of how Serge's attack changed her life. So you couldn’t have one without the other.
News of a second season, even if it’s a couple of years after the fact (The Returned premiered in France in November 2012), is welcome because there are a lot of plotlines that can be continued or tied up.
On the other hand, The Returned manages to be spectacularly engaging even with those loopholes -- a testament to its ambition surely, but primarily to the fact that despite any shortcoming you might encounter, you can’t help but want to watch the next hour right away.
Having watched all eight, I was impressed to see how many plates were spinning by that last hour and how much payoff was expected and excitedly anticipated by that time. Sure, some of the plates fell to the ground, but The Returned was never dull; it was a visual pleasure and ultimately proved to be a challenging change-up to the zombie genre, with its smart dialogue, provocative emotions, wonderful acting and intellectual curiosity about love and loss.
E-mail: Tim.Goodman@THR.com
Twitter: @BastardMachine
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein during a hearing in September on Capitol Hill.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein during a hearing in September on Capitol Hill.
Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is calling for a "total review" of spying operations directed against foreign leaders.
"Unless the United States is engaged in hostilities against a country or there is an emergency need for this type of surveillance, I do not believe the United States should be collecting phone calls or emails of friendly presidents and prime ministers," Feinstein said in a statement following reports that the National Security Agency had eavesdropped on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone and spied on other leaders.
"It is abundantly clear that a total review of all intelligence programs is necessary so that members of the Senate Intelligence Committee are fully informed as to what is actually being carried out by the intelligence community," Feinstein said.
"The White House has informed me that collection on our allies will not continue, which I support," she said. "But as far as I'm concerned, Congress needs to know exactly what our intelligence community is doing."
"Feinstein has been one of the NSA's staunchest congressional defenders amid the uproar over its phone records surveillance, but she said that the spying on foreign leaders without President Obama's knowledge was a 'big problem.' "
In a briefing on Monday, when asked about the alleged spying, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said "reviews are underway."
"And we are, as part of that process, endeavoring to make available more information about what the NSA does and about the programs that have been discussed a lot of late," he said.
Imagine a building with a façade that opens and closes like a flower blooming. It feels like the building is alive, but in reality, it's just inspired by life. A material that can make this happen actually does exist—it's called Flectofin, and it's based on a flower called the Bird of Paradise.
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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/gDjTtSea58M/a-bionic-material-that-lets-buildings-open-and-close-li-1453596797![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tUChx99cG41vVR9_23GZQ6QK2lnVsrfOys1epODqaC8WQ-4KIb11gjfcm2yi5CYwehswjwIBBb-zY35R1jKJ4DSwwgtUXHhjag55-qMJo=s0-d){kind=small}
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 28-Oct-2013
ShareContact: Caroline Marin
crmarin@umn.edu
612-624-5680
University of Minnesota Academic Health Center
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (October 27, 2013) New research from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota Center for Immunology has identified key proteins that influence immune response strategies, a finding that could influence new vaccination approaches.
The study, published in the latest edition of Nature Immunology, looked closely at the KLF2 and S1P1 genes, and how their expression impacted the immune strategy of a cell.
The immune system has two main strategies to empower white blood cells, or lymphocytes, to resist infections of the body.
The first strategy, called recirculation, is a process where white blood cells are carried around in circulating blood, allowing rapid access to organs once an immune response has begun.
The second major strategy allows lymphocytes to migrate into tissues and remain there long-term, creating a kind of rapid response team to any infectious organism that enters the body. These cells are called resident memory T-cells or Trm, and they play a dominant role in initiating immune responses that control infections.
"A key question we had was how lymphocytes make the choice to be a recirculator or a resident," said Stephen Jameson, Ph.D., a professor in the Center for Immunology and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology in the University of Minnesota Medical School. "We already knew the protein KLF2 regulates the expression of genes. One of those genes, called S1P1, allows lymphocytes to leave tissues and begin recirculating."
Intrigued by the impact of KLF2 and S1P1 on lymphocytes' ability to move out of tissues, Jameson and colleagues wanted to compare resident and recirculating cells and the KLF2 and S1P1 levels. They found that resident T-cells had lost expression of the KLF2 and S1P1 genes.
The next step was finding what controlled the expression of KLF1 and S1P1. Jameson's team was able to pinpoint cytokines as playing a major role in this cell decision-making process.
"Cytokines are soluble proteins that act similar to hormones for the immune system," said Jameson. "We found the cytokines can instruct cells to become resident memory cells, thereby may be useful for bolstering local immunity."
Though further research is needed to define the biochemical signals dictating how recirculation versus residency is chosen, learning more about these key signals instructing T-cells to determine their strategic immunity role could significantly improve vaccination approaches. Researchers may be able to use the knowledge and develop technology to focus memory T-cells to form a barrier to infections.
###
This project was supported by funding from an NIH MERIT award to Jameson (R37 AI38903) and an NIH training grant for Cara Skon (T32 AI07313), as well as other NIH grants to contributing authors (R37 AI39560 and T90 DE022732).
The Center for Immunology is a interdisciplinary unit at the University of Minnesota devoted to advancing the field of Immunology and educating future Immunologists. Learn more at http://www.immunology.umn.edu.
Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota is part of the University's Academic Health Center. It is designated by the National Cancer Institute as a Comprehensive Cancer Center. For more information about the Masonic Cancer Center, visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu or call 612-624-2620.
The University of Minnesota Medical School, with its two campuses in the Twin Cities and Duluth, is a leading educator of the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and the school's 3,800 faculty physicians and scientists advance patient care, discover biomedical research breakthroughs with more than $180 million in sponsored research annually, and enhance health through world-class patient care for the state of Minnesota and beyond. Visit http://www.med.umn.edu to learn more.
Share
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 28-Oct-2013
ShareContact: Caroline Marin
crmarin@umn.edu
612-624-5680
University of Minnesota Academic Health Center
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (October 27, 2013) New research from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota Center for Immunology has identified key proteins that influence immune response strategies, a finding that could influence new vaccination approaches.
The study, published in the latest edition of Nature Immunology, looked closely at the KLF2 and S1P1 genes, and how their expression impacted the immune strategy of a cell.
The immune system has two main strategies to empower white blood cells, or lymphocytes, to resist infections of the body.
The first strategy, called recirculation, is a process where white blood cells are carried around in circulating blood, allowing rapid access to organs once an immune response has begun.
The second major strategy allows lymphocytes to migrate into tissues and remain there long-term, creating a kind of rapid response team to any infectious organism that enters the body. These cells are called resident memory T-cells or Trm, and they play a dominant role in initiating immune responses that control infections.
"A key question we had was how lymphocytes make the choice to be a recirculator or a resident," said Stephen Jameson, Ph.D., a professor in the Center for Immunology and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology in the University of Minnesota Medical School. "We already knew the protein KLF2 regulates the expression of genes. One of those genes, called S1P1, allows lymphocytes to leave tissues and begin recirculating."
Intrigued by the impact of KLF2 and S1P1 on lymphocytes' ability to move out of tissues, Jameson and colleagues wanted to compare resident and recirculating cells and the KLF2 and S1P1 levels. They found that resident T-cells had lost expression of the KLF2 and S1P1 genes.
The next step was finding what controlled the expression of KLF1 and S1P1. Jameson's team was able to pinpoint cytokines as playing a major role in this cell decision-making process.
"Cytokines are soluble proteins that act similar to hormones for the immune system," said Jameson. "We found the cytokines can instruct cells to become resident memory cells, thereby may be useful for bolstering local immunity."
Though further research is needed to define the biochemical signals dictating how recirculation versus residency is chosen, learning more about these key signals instructing T-cells to determine their strategic immunity role could significantly improve vaccination approaches. Researchers may be able to use the knowledge and develop technology to focus memory T-cells to form a barrier to infections.
###
This project was supported by funding from an NIH MERIT award to Jameson (R37 AI38903) and an NIH training grant for Cara Skon (T32 AI07313), as well as other NIH grants to contributing authors (R37 AI39560 and T90 DE022732).
The Center for Immunology is a interdisciplinary unit at the University of Minnesota devoted to advancing the field of Immunology and educating future Immunologists. Learn more at http://www.immunology.umn.edu.
Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota is part of the University's Academic Health Center. It is designated by the National Cancer Institute as a Comprehensive Cancer Center. For more information about the Masonic Cancer Center, visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu or call 612-624-2620.
The University of Minnesota Medical School, with its two campuses in the Twin Cities and Duluth, is a leading educator of the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and the school's 3,800 faculty physicians and scientists advance patient care, discover biomedical research breakthroughs with more than $180 million in sponsored research annually, and enhance health through world-class patient care for the state of Minnesota and beyond. Visit http://www.med.umn.edu to learn more.
Share
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Gamers of a certain age will no doubt scream Oh wow, I remember that! as they click through the Internet Archive's latest project.
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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Q7x64c5EmUI/@barrettPUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 28-Oct-2013
ShareContact: Kea Giles
kgiles@geosociety.org
Geological Society of America
Boulder, CO, USA In response to devastation caused by unprecedented heavy rains between 9 and 13 September 2013, and the resulting catastrophic flooding that hit Colorado's Front Range, The Geological Society of America will present a late-breaking session on Tuesday morning, 29 October, during their 125th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Denver.
Session organizers Peter Barkmann (Project Hydrogeologist, Colorado Geological Survey) and Bob Jarrett (Scientist Emeritus, U.S. Geological Survey) recognized a need for the geoscience community to respond to this historic event in a timely fashion with sound and accurate information. "The timing of such a widespread major rainfall event leading to floods and landslides right before this gathering of Earth scientists was fortuitous. It provides a great opportunity to share observations and further our understanding of how our landscape was shaped by its climate," said Barkmann.
Nolan Doesken, Colorado State Climatologist for the Colorado Climate Center, will examine conditions that led up to the flood in his talk titled, "Not Expected but Not a Surprise."
Speakers will also cover flood processes and how the flood waters behaved, as well as the impacts of the flooding on dams, highways, infrastructure, and lives. Finally, a discussion of the flood within the context of water supply and management will help to bring events into perspective for future policy and decision-making. A 30-minute question and answer period will follow the presentations.
See the complete list of speakers at https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2013AM/webprogram/Session34461.html.
DETAILSLATE BREAKING SESSION:
The 2013 Colorado Flood EventA Perfect Storm Hits a Dynamic Landscape, Causes, Processes, and Effects
https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2013AM/webprogram/Session34461.html
Tuesday, 29 Oct.: 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Colorado Convention Center, Mile High Ballroom 2AB/3AB
Contact: Peter E. Barkmann, peter.barkmann@state.co.us
A related late-breaking field trip to the Boulder flood zone took place earlier on Saturday, 26 October, to examine the effects of the 2013 Front Range flood on low-order streams and alluvial terraces in the area. The trip, which was filled to capacity, was arranged and led by Lon Abbott (University of Colorado), Mariela Perignon, Lisa Dierauf, and Dave Sutherland.
###
ON-SITE NEWSROOM
Media are invited to attend and cover this and other sessions at the GSA Annual Meeting. Onsite registration for media is in the Newsroom, room 608, in the Colorado Convention Center. Eligibility requirements are online at http://community.geosociety.org/2013AnnualMeeting/MediaCenter/MediaRegistration.
Newsroom Hours:
Sunday, 27 October: 7:00 am 6:00 pm
Monday & Tuesday, 28-29 October: 7:30 am 6:00 pm
Wednesday, 30 October: 7:30 am 5:30 pm
Phone: 303-228-8431
The Geological Society of America, founded in 1888, is a scientific society with more than 25,000 members from academia, government, and industry in more than 100 countries. Through its meetings, publications, and programs, GSA enhances the professional growth of its members and promotes the geosciences in the service of humankind. Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, USA, GSA encourages cooperative research among earth, life, planetary, and social scientists, fosters public dialogue on geoscience issues, and supports all levels of earth science education.
http://www.geosociety.org
Share
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 28-Oct-2013
ShareContact: Kea Giles
kgiles@geosociety.org
Geological Society of America
Boulder, CO, USA In response to devastation caused by unprecedented heavy rains between 9 and 13 September 2013, and the resulting catastrophic flooding that hit Colorado's Front Range, The Geological Society of America will present a late-breaking session on Tuesday morning, 29 October, during their 125th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Denver.
Session organizers Peter Barkmann (Project Hydrogeologist, Colorado Geological Survey) and Bob Jarrett (Scientist Emeritus, U.S. Geological Survey) recognized a need for the geoscience community to respond to this historic event in a timely fashion with sound and accurate information. "The timing of such a widespread major rainfall event leading to floods and landslides right before this gathering of Earth scientists was fortuitous. It provides a great opportunity to share observations and further our understanding of how our landscape was shaped by its climate," said Barkmann.
Nolan Doesken, Colorado State Climatologist for the Colorado Climate Center, will examine conditions that led up to the flood in his talk titled, "Not Expected but Not a Surprise."
Speakers will also cover flood processes and how the flood waters behaved, as well as the impacts of the flooding on dams, highways, infrastructure, and lives. Finally, a discussion of the flood within the context of water supply and management will help to bring events into perspective for future policy and decision-making. A 30-minute question and answer period will follow the presentations.
See the complete list of speakers at https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2013AM/webprogram/Session34461.html.
DETAILSLATE BREAKING SESSION:
The 2013 Colorado Flood EventA Perfect Storm Hits a Dynamic Landscape, Causes, Processes, and Effects
https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2013AM/webprogram/Session34461.html
Tuesday, 29 Oct.: 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Colorado Convention Center, Mile High Ballroom 2AB/3AB
Contact: Peter E. Barkmann, peter.barkmann@state.co.us
A related late-breaking field trip to the Boulder flood zone took place earlier on Saturday, 26 October, to examine the effects of the 2013 Front Range flood on low-order streams and alluvial terraces in the area. The trip, which was filled to capacity, was arranged and led by Lon Abbott (University of Colorado), Mariela Perignon, Lisa Dierauf, and Dave Sutherland.
###
ON-SITE NEWSROOM
Media are invited to attend and cover this and other sessions at the GSA Annual Meeting. Onsite registration for media is in the Newsroom, room 608, in the Colorado Convention Center. Eligibility requirements are online at http://community.geosociety.org/2013AnnualMeeting/MediaCenter/MediaRegistration.
Newsroom Hours:
Sunday, 27 October: 7:00 am 6:00 pm
Monday & Tuesday, 28-29 October: 7:30 am 6:00 pm
Wednesday, 30 October: 7:30 am 5:30 pm
Phone: 303-228-8431
The Geological Society of America, founded in 1888, is a scientific society with more than 25,000 members from academia, government, and industry in more than 100 countries. Through its meetings, publications, and programs, GSA enhances the professional growth of its members and promotes the geosciences in the service of humankind. Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, USA, GSA encourages cooperative research among earth, life, planetary, and social scientists, fosters public dialogue on geoscience issues, and supports all levels of earth science education.
http://www.geosociety.org
Share
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
