iOS 7 for iPad First Impressions: Messing With the Best

Since its inception, the iPad has been the gold standard for tablets. Nothing else has come close, really. A lot of credit goes to iOS, which has ceded plenty of ground to Android on phones but remains easily the friendliest tablet software. So changing up iOS 7 means changing up the very best tablet OS there is. Here's how that's working out so far.

As usual, this comes with our standard "It's Just a Beta" forewarning. iOS 7 may be enough of an overhaul to make it fair to raise more questions than usual, but this is by no means a finished product. What Apple actually releases will almost certainly be substantively different from its current form.

That said, here's what we've noticed so far:

• The "swipe from anywhere to unlock" tweak that was a nice little change for iPhone is a massive improvement for the iPad, where there is just more space. With a tablet, your hand is not always (rarely, actually) positioned to swipe a tiny bar at the bottom of the screen. Especially if you wake up your tablet from the top power button.
• The Control Center is a spot where you'll notice Apple making the UI work for both phones and tablets. On a phone, your thumb is always within reach of the bottom. But on the iPad, you can use your thumbs to drag Control Center up from anywhere along the bottom of the screen. And doing it from the corners?where your thumbs probably are anyway?puts you right in position to change brightness or volume. It feels like it just fits.

• Some gestures just don't make much sense anymore, though. The four-fingers-up to slide up the old multitasking tray, for example, is sort of confusing now. Why would sliding four fingers up make this sliding panel interface show up? It's still functional, but it loses that almost tactile feeling of sliding your fingers up and seeing a drawer pop out from the same direction.
• More concerning (and also something that can easily be fixed before the public release) is that basic navigation is, for the first time in a while, sort of muddled. For example, if you enter a folder and want to exit it and return to the home screen, all you have to do is tap anywhere outside of the folder. That makes sense, and even if you don't know that that's how it works, you'll figure it out in a hurry. That "tap anywhere to return to where you were" usage disappears, though, when you use the new multitasking. You tap outside of the multitasking panels, and nothing happens, even though you're tapping on the same wallpaper as you were when using a folder.

• iOS 7's multitasking in general makes a little less sense on a tablet than it does on a phone. For one, there is a ton of wasted space on the iPad's 4:3 display, and because the animations take longer to finish (and the panels can only move on one axis at a time), it's a little harder to manipulate.
• The whole concept of multitasking in iOS 7 is also less tablet friendly. Before, you'd just slide the drawer up, and shift over to where you're at. One full screen app to another. Now you're shot off to some intermediary environment that can be jarring visually, and if you change your mind, you can't just return to your app by tapping 90 percent of your screen; you've got to swipe back to the left (since multitasking shifts you one to the right by default) and tap the tile for where you were. Overall, it feels less restful than iPads had previously.
• Non-retina screens are not going to looks as great with iOS 7. The iPad Mini, which has a condensed but still sub-retina screen, looks mostly fine, and the thin typefaces are readable. Except, in certain instances they look sort of ugly?like in the new lighter-weight badges on apps like Mail or Newsstand. On a retina iPad or an iPhone, those look much better than the old style. But on the Mini (and presumably the iPad 2), they're pixelated and look sort of low rent. This will probably pop up in a few other places as well.
• Animations, like returning to the home screen from an app, are running very sluggishly. Everything is running sluggishly on iPad Mini and iPad 3, actually, but again, this is a beta, so wait and see. This is more slowdown than usual, though, and again, because of how big a change iOS 7 is, it bears watching.
• Parallax is there if you look for it, but it's not especially noticeable on day to day tablet use.
• Some staples of iPad gestures?five-fingered pinch, four-fingered swipe to switch apps?are slightly muddled in beta. This usually wouldn't be something to bring up about unfinished software, but seems notable given the amount of changes going on, and the importance of these gestures. By themselves, these two gestures make using an iPad a totally better than other tablets. Right now, a few of the first party apps aren't recognizing them when you're interacting with a content layer (like an email in Mail). This will hopefully be fixed, but it will a big deal if it isn't.

iOS 7 is very nice. It adds a ton of features we've wanted for a while. But there are also some drawbacks beyond the bitching you've heard about icons and color scheme. Some of those will get cleaned up, but others, especially the iPad-centric, might just be the cost of going forward.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/ios-7-for-ipad-first-impressions-messing-with-the-best-598446530

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Evan Goldberg Teases This Is the End Sequel

EXCLUSIVE: Director Evan Goldberg tells Screen he is up for a sequel - but Seth Rogen might need some convincing.

Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, the duo behind Superbad and Pineapple Express, were in London this week to promote their new comedy, which is released in the UK by Sony this weekend.

With the $31m-budgeted spoof about six friends facing the apocalypse having grossed $57.8m after two weeks in the US, Screen asked Goldberg about the prospect of a sequel.

?If you ask me, I?d say there?s a good chance of sequel,? said Goldberg, who co-directed the comedy with Rogan. ?If you ask Seth, he?d say no. So, we?ll see.?

Real-life friends James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson star as the six friends fending off the apocalypse, while there are cameos from the likes of Rihanna, Emma Watson, the Backstreet Boys, Channing Tatum and Paul Rudd.

Corralling that level of talent for a follow-up film would pose a challenge, according to Goldberg, who said: ?We lucked out that they were all available. I honestly don?t know if we could get the guys together.?

That hasn?t stopped Goldberg, Rogen and their Point Grey Pictures outfit from brainstorming possible plotlines.

?We actually talked about doing a sequel where it starts at the premiere of This is the End,? Goldberg revealed. ?Seth?s a cokehead in this version, Michael Cera is a calm dude with a boyfriend, Rihanna and The Backstreet Boys are back.

?We have a lot of ideas: a heaven and hell, for example, and a garden of Eden version where Danny [McBride] is Adam.?

Next up on the directorial slate for Goldberg and Rogen is comedy The Interview, in which James Franco and Rogen will respectively play a talk show host and his producer who unwittingly get caught up in an assassination plot against Korean dictator Kim Jung-un.

Sony is backing again, with shoot due in October.

Goldberg and Rogen recently produced comedy Townies, starring Franco, Rogen, Rose Byrne and Zac Efron, while in development are Jamaica, written by 50/50?s Will Reiser, in which a teenager travels to Jamaica with his grandmother, and a sequel to hockey comedy Goon.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1927743/news/1927743/

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New Samsung tablets mimic Galaxy phones

The 10-inch model of Samsung Electronics Company's new Galaxy Tab 3 series tablet computer is seen in an undated photo provided by Samsung. Samsung Electronics Co., the second-largest maker of tablets after Apple, is putting three new tablets in the Galaxy Tab 3 series on sale in the U.S. on July 7, making its tablet computers look more like its hit Galaxy phones in the hope that the success of the smartphones can boost tablet sales. (AP Photo/Samsung Electronics Co.)

The 10-inch model of Samsung Electronics Company's new Galaxy Tab 3 series tablet computer is seen in an undated photo provided by Samsung. Samsung Electronics Co., the second-largest maker of tablets after Apple, is putting three new tablets in the Galaxy Tab 3 series on sale in the U.S. on July 7, making its tablet computers look more like its hit Galaxy phones in the hope that the success of the smartphones can boost tablet sales. (AP Photo/Samsung Electronics Co.)

The 7-inch model of Samsung Electronics Company's new Galaxy Tab 3 series tablet computer is seen in an undated photo provided by Samsung. Samsung Electronics Co., the second-largest maker of tablets after Apple, is putting three new tablets in the Galaxy Tab 3 series on sale in the U.S. on July 7, making its tablet computers look more like its hit Galaxy phones in the hope that the success of the smartphones can boost tablet sales. The cheapest, $199 device will have a screen that measures 7 inches (18 centimeters) diagonally. An 8-inch (20-centimeter) model will go for $299 and a 10-inch one for $399. (AP Photo/Samsung Electronics Co.)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Samsung is expanding its lineup of tablet computers and making them look more like its Galaxy smartphones, as it hopes to translate its success in phones to the tablet market, where Apple is dominant.

Samsung Electronics Co., the second-largest maker of tablets after Apple, on Monday said it is putting three new tablets in the Galaxy Tab 3 series on sale in the U.S. on July 7. The cheapest, a $199 device, will have a screen that measures 7 inches diagonally. An 8-inch model will go for $299 and a 10-inch one for $399.

"Our goal is to attract Galaxy smartphone users, and to make it the ultimate smartphone accessory," said Shoneel Kolhatkar, director of product planning at Samsung Mobile.

The "Tab" line is Samsung's value brand, undercutting the price of similar Apple models. Samsung's premium tablets are in the "Note" line, which include styluses. The 7-inch and 10-inch tablets had "Tab 2" equivalents, but the 8-inch model is new, and coincides closely in size with Apple's iPad Mini, which came out late last year.

The new tablets have the same three buttons on the front as the Galaxy smartphones. Last year's Tab 2 had no physical buttons on the front, as encouraged by Google, which supplies the Android software.

The 7-inch Galaxy Tab 3 has 8 gigabytes of storage memory, while the larger models have 16 gigabytes. All of them have card slots for memory expansion.

Samsung and Apple are in a heated tussle when it comes to smartphones and tablets. Each company would like to dominate both markets. Samsung had 18 percent of the global tablet market in the first quarter this year, according to research firm IDC. Apple had 40 percent. In smartphones, the figures are reversed, with Samsung dominating, largely because of its Galaxy line. Apple came in second with a 17 percent market share for the iPhone. In the U.S., however, Samsung is outsold by Amazon.com Inc., with its Kindles.

Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder said a hit smartphone traditionally hasn't led buyers to get a tablet from the same manufacturer. He believes Samsung will get a bigger boost from its new mini-stores inside U.S. Best Buy locations. Having a retail environment it can control bridges some of the gap with Apple, which has its own stores.

"Whether you buy it online or in person, people want to touch and feel these products," Gownder said.

Samsung has declined to challenge the iPad on screen resolution. The new tablets have the same resolution as older models, leaving them well behind the iPad and even Samsung's flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone. The 10-inch tablet has a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels, compared with 1920 by 1080 for the phone. The smartphone packs in three times more detail in a square inch than the tablet does. (The 8-inch Tab 3 does, however, have a slightly higher screen resolution than the iPad Mini, the closest Apple equivalent.)

Analyst Jeff Orr at ABI Research said that the new Samsung tablets aren't "groundbreaking in any particular direction," it shows the South Korean company is honing a strategy that's been successful in smartphones: producing a wide variety of devices for different customer segments.

"Samsung has certainly shown how that can be accomplished with handsets, and I see more of that occurring now with the Galaxy Tab 3 announcement," Orr said.

With the new models, Samsung will have five tablets on sale in the U.S., compared to two at Apple. In addition, Samsung sells the Galaxy Note II, a phone-tablet crossover device.

The 10-inch model is the first Android-powered Samsung tablet to use an Intel processor. That's a significant win for the Santa Clara, Calif., chipmaker, which has been trying to break into the market for cellphone and tablet chips now that PC sales are slumping. Other smartphones and tablets run chips made by a variety of companies, all based on designs from ARM Holdings PLC, a British company.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-06-24-Samsung-Tablets/id-791c3dea4a544211820902cedfb5396a

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Angelina Jolie urges world to end rape in war

UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? Angelina Jolie made her debut before the U.N.'s most powerful body as a special envoy for refugees Monday and urged the world's nations to make the fight against rape in war a top priority.

The actress told the Security Council that "hundreds of thousands ? if not millions ? of women, children and men have been raped in conflicts in our lifetimes."

Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, said the Security Council has witnessed 67 years of wars and conflict since it was established "but the world has yet to take up warzone rape as a serious priority."

"You set the bar," she told the council. "If the ... council sets rape and sexual violence in conflict as a priority it will become one and progress will be made. If you do not, this horror will continue."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who presided over the meeting, stressed that "in conflicts in nearly every corner of the globe, rape is used systematically and ruthlessly, in the almost certain knowledge that there will be no consequences for the perpetrators."

Soon after Jolie spoke, the council adopted a legally-binding resolution demanding the complete and immediate cessation of all acts of sexual violence by all parties to armed conflict. It noted that sexual violence can constitute a crime against humanity and a contributing act to genocide, called for improved monitoring of sexual violence in conflict, and urged the U.N. and donors to assist survivors.

It was the broadest resolution adopted by the council on the sexual violence in conflict. Hague said Britain plans to follow-up by convening a global gathering during the annual General Assembly meeting of world leaders in September to keep up the pressure for action.

Hague said at a discussion later at the Ford Foundation that his prime motivation for pressing for global action against sexual violence was the 1990s war in Bosnia, partly because of an adviser but also because of Jolie's 2011 film, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," about former lovers who end up on the opposite sides of the conflict. He said he arranged the film's British premiere at the Foreign Office and has been campaigning with Jolie since then, including a visit to Congo in March, "to move the stigma and the shame from the victim to the perpetrator."

"The time has come for the world to take a strong and determined stand to make clear that the systematic use of rape as a weapon is not acceptable in the modern world and our objective is to change the entire global attitude to these issues," Hague said.

Getting the whole world talking about sexual violence in conflict and the need to punish perpetrators not victims "will shift attitudes ? maybe over a period of years, but we have begun," he said.

Jolie, who has traveled extensively in her role as goodwill ambassador, recalled several of the survivors she had met ? the mother of a five-year-old girl raped outside a police station in Goma in eastern Congo, and a Syrian woman she spoke to in Jordan last week who asked to hide her name and face "because she knew that if she spoke out about the crimes against her she would be attacked again, and possibly killed."

"Let us be clear what we are speaking of: Young girls raped and impregnated before their bodies are able to carry a child, causing fistula," Jolie said, referring to an injury caused by violent rapes that tear apart the flesh separating the bladder and rectum from the vagina, leaving the girls unable to control their bowels or bladder.

She continued: "Boys held at gunpoint and forced to sexually assault their mothers and sisters. Women raped with bottles, wood branches and knives to cause as much damage as possible. Toddlers and even babies dragged from their homes, and violated."

Zainab Hawa Bangura, the U.N. special envoy on sexual violence in conflict, told the council that two weeks ago she visited Bosnia where an estimated 50,000 women were victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence during the war, but only a handful of perpetrators have been prosecuted.

Later, at the Ford Foundation, she said that on an African trip with Hague, she visited the village of Mambasa in eastern Congo's Ituri district where 11 babies aged 6 to 12 months had been raped, 59 children aged 1 to 3 years old had been raped and 182 girls aged 5 to 15 years old had been raped.

"Who will rape a baby?," Bangura asked. "It means you want to wipe the community away. That's the only explanation you can have."

Jolie pleaded with the Security Council ? and all countries ? to implement the resolution and not let the issue drop.

"Meet your commitments, debate this issue in your parliaments, mobilize people in your countries, and build it into all your foreign policy efforts," she urged. "Together, you can turn the tide of global opinion, shatter impunity and finally put an end to this abhorrence."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid tribute to Jolie for being the voice of millions forced to flee their homes "and now for the many survivors of wartime rape whose bodies have been used as battlegrounds."

He called on all leaders to apprehend and prosecute perpetrators "and be part of a global coalition of champions determined to break this evil."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/angelina-jolie-urges-world-end-rape-war-160231702.html

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Programacion variada ? The First Techniques In Your Self Help Trip

Creating on your own as an individual is not easy, as you are almost certainly informed about already. Should you be steadfast and have a solid support method, you can do it, and become proud of the final results. You need to discover a lot from these tips to create your starting techniques easier. It can be hard to determine which points you would like to undertake personal development desired goals. That having been mentioned, keep an eye out for new guidance that may help you and utilize these tips to affect your own private improvement. Tension can considerably hinder your ability to be delighted. Tension will take the two mentally and physically throughout our system. To get our goals, the strain in your thoughts must be damaged. Established a rest time every single day to be by yourself and become alone. Developing a time every day can present you with peace and improve your self-appearance. Study some really good guides on personal development. A really good t?umaczenia t?umaczenia t?umaczenia book about them may set up you on a training course which will improve your objectives and increase on your own. Try and pick a amount that had been well-acquired by other people due to the fact improperly completed guides in the genre usually are not well composed. Pinpoint precisely what is receiving when it comes to your development. This is very tough for many individuals. Once you have removed the hurdles for your accomplishment, the road to achievement will end up very much clearer. Fat loss is only one reason that individuals need to physical exercise. There are many both mental and physical advantages associate with physical exercise. Start a unique t?umaczenia savings for urgent reasons.These funds will help from financial debt carries on lowering. Question others regarding their results as an alternative to offering regarding your own. Speaking to a specialist or a pastor can help you reduce stress. These folks have plenty of coaching and will know where to start inside your scenario.These are willing to listen closely and offer seem advice that yourself on your path. You should always be respectful toward people, regardless of who they may be or what they could do for you personally. The way that you treat others claims a great deal about yourself than it can about the subject. When you notice yourself dealing with the blues, it may be beneficial to adjust your diet plan by raising your consumption of complicated carbohydrate food. A lack of intricate carbohydrate food can cause very low serotonin levels.You may improve your consumption of these carbs by eating a lot of fruit, many fruits, almonds, dark brown rice, grain and different legumes. Anything you need to have in your life, understand that absolutely nothing happens with out measures. You need to actively interact with in your daily life instead of sitting on the sidelines.If you are only viewing your lifestyle go by, you happen to be just waiting around for the conclusion and not dwelling mieszkania pozna? . Have the main reasons in your life and if you are nonetheless focused on it. As a selfless is an important element of self improvement. Being aware of what it means to look after and assist others, simply by making the sacrifices in your self, can enhance your interior personality. When you are able make sacrifices that lift up other individuals up with out jeopardizing your own personal wellness, you are able to grow to be that sort person that you dreamed of being. Self discipline is an essential element in having the capability to work towards on your own. Learn to workout personal control of your whole body. You need to strive to get over stuff like lust, greed, or greed. An excellent hint for private development guidance is always to constantly treat the body effectively.Once your system notifys you that this requirements one thing, including meals, beverage, or medical treatment, provide it with just what it requirements when you can. Doing this will make the body take care of you best from the highway. Remove any unneeded sources of anxiety in your life. Accept that there will be setbacks on the way to your goals, rather than focusing on your faults. Faith could not can be found minus the accompanying feelings of affection. Placed your trust into measures by motivating charitable trust towards those close to you, but on your own as well. You have to determine exactly what you would like and acknowledge the change in order to develop. Malfunction might be a damaging and large blow to your ego and confidence when one is attempting to better oneself through personal development. Failing is simply one more way of discovering your advantages and what have been your weaknesses. In that sense, every failing has to be something you feel better about, when you have exposed yet another piece of your own puzzle.

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Source: http://progvariada.net/sin-categoria/the-first-techniques-in-your-self-help-trip/

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Asia shares slide on China worries, Fed outlook; dollar firms

By Chikako Mogi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares fell to a fresh 9-1/2-month low on Monday as investors worried about China's economic and financial stability and markets scrambled to price in the Federal Reserve's plan to tone down its stimulus drive starting later this year.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> slipped 1.2 percent to its lowest since early September, after posting its worst week since May 2012 with a drop of 4.5 percent last week.

China's money market rates remained elevated and volatile, keeping investors jittery about the intentions of the Chinese authorities, as the recent spike in market rates compounds fears of a sharper-than-expected slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

China's weighted average overnight bond repurchase rate, a measure of the cost of funds, fell to a low of 6.1 percent earlier in the day but briefly crawled back up again to 9.1 percent, slightly above Friday's close at 8.89 percent.

China shares extended losses with banks leading the downward spiral after official news reports over the weekend suggested Beijing will crack down on shadow banking, blamed for the cash crunch in the mainland. Hong Kong shares <.hsi> fell 1.4 percent and Shanghai shares <.ssec> shed 2.1 percent, with the financials sub-index tumbling nearly 6 percent.

Many analysts saw the People's Bank of China's withholding of money market funding as a strategy to force banks to stop channeling cash into the informal banking sector, known as shadow banking, which authorities worry is creating significant credit risks.

"The Chinese authorities are purposefully doing this to let investors be aware of pains that must accompany structural reforms the government is trying to pursue, so investors shouldn't be complacent about the government avoiding a hard landing," said Xiao Minjie, an independent economist in Tokyo.

Australian shares <.axjo> tumbled 1.6 percent, weighed by concerns about slowing China growth, while South Korean shares <.ks11> fell 0.7 percent, extending Friday's losses to a fresh 11-month low.

Japan's Nikkei stock average <.n225> gave up early gains on the back of a weaker yen as investors remained skittish after last week's global market rout. It was marginally weaker by midday.

"The weaker yen certainly is the main driver today. Nevertheless, investors are hesitant to buy into exporters because the external situation, especially that of the emerging markets, is uncertain," said Ryota Sakagami, chief strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities.

DOLLAR SOLE OUTPERFORMER

Financial markets sold off last week after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that with the U.S. economy showing signs of recovery, the central bank may start scaling back its huge monthly bond-buying plan which was aimed at keeping bond yields down and supporting the economy. The Fed's strong accommodative stance has also encouraged investment in riskier assets such as shares.

"The valuation adjustment for tapering of Fed stimulus is well underway," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

The dollar was the sole outperformer, gaining broadly amid improving U.S. economic prospects and rising yields.

The dollar was up 0.4 percent against the yen at 98.25, slowly extending gains and moving away from its 10-week low of 93.75 yen hit earlier in the month.

Traders said the prospect of diverging yield directions will support the dollar against the yen.

U.S. Treasuries prices slipped in Asia on Monday, extending last week's dismal performance with the benchmark 10-year yield posting its biggest weekly rise since November 2001 after the Federal Reserve signaled it might scale back its stimulus.

The yield on 10-year notes added 2.6 basis points to 2.5684 percent, its highest in almost two years.

"A better economic outlook will eventually need to be priced into the short end of the yield curve. This suggests that there is a catch-up trade for the USD versus low-yielding currencies (such as the yen)," Barclays Capital said in a research note.

Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar index <.dxy> rose 0.32 percent to a two-week high after ending last week up 2.2 percent for its biggest weekly gain since early November, 2011.

Spot gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,291.65 an ounce, after touching its lowest since September 2010 of $1,268.89 on Friday and ending the worst week in nearly two years.

U.S. crude futures eased 0.2 percent to $93.55 a barrel and Brent fell 0.3 percent to $100.60.

Going into the Fed's June meeting, investors continued to take money out of emerging-market fund groups in the week ending June 19, with redemptions from EPFR Global-tracked emerging markets bond funds hitting a 90-week high and more than $3 billion leaving emerging markets equity funds, EPFR said on Friday.

(Additional reporting by Thuy Ong in Sydney and Tomo Uetake in Tokyo; Editing by Eric Meijer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fed-outlook-bolsters-dollar-caps-asian-shares-003746943.html

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Oddest couple share 250 million year old burrow

June 22, 2013 ? Scientists from South Africa, Australia and France have discovered a world first association while scanning a 250 million year old fossilised burrow from the Karoo Basin of South Africa.

The burrow revealed two unrelated vertebrate animals nestled together and fossilised after being trapped by a flash flood event. Facing harsh climatic conditions subsequent to the Permo-Triassic (P-T) mass extinction, the amphibian Broomistega and the mammal forerunner Thrinaxodon cohabited in a burrow.

Scanning shows that the amphibian, which was suffering from broken ribs, crawled into a sleeping mammal's shelter for protection. This research suggests that short periods of dormancy, called aestivation, in addition to burrowing behaviour, may have been a crucial adaptation that allowed mammal ancestors to survive the P-T extinction.

The international team of scientists was led by Dr Vincent Fernandez from Wits University, South Africa and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France. The other authors from Wits University include Prof. Bruce Rubidge (Director of the newly formed Palaeosciences Centre of Excellence at Wits), Dr Fernando Abdala and Dr Kristian Carlson. Other authors include Dr Della Collins Cook (Indiana University); Dr Adam Yates (Museum of Central Australia) and Dr. Paul Tafforeau (ESRF).

After many impressive results obtained on fossils, synchrotron imaging has led to revived interest in the studies of the numerous fossilised burrows discovered in the Karoo Basin of South Africa and dated to 250 million years ago. The first attempt to investigate one of these burrow-casts surprisingly revealed a world-first association of two unrelated animals.

The fossil was recovered from sedimentary rock strata in the Karoo Basin. It dates from 250 million years ago, at the beginning of the Triassic Period. At that time, the ecosystem was recovering from the Permo-Triassic mass extinction that wiped out most of life on Earth. In the Pangea Supercontinent context, what is now South Africa was an enclave in the southern half called Gondwana. It was the scene of pronounced climatic warming and increased seasonality marked by monsoonal rainfall. To survive this harsh environment, many animals, including mammal-like reptiles (mammal forerunners), developed a digging behaviour, attested by the numerous fossilised burrow casts discovered in the Karoo Basin. These casts have long been thought to enclose fossilised remains, triggering interest from palaeontologists. Early this year, an international group of scientists started to research the contents of these burrows using X-ray synchrotron computed microtomography.

Two burrow casts were selected from the collection at Wits to be scanned using the state-of-the-art facility at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Using the unique properties of the X-ray beam which enables non-destructive probing, the scan of the first burrow started to reveal the skull of a mammal-like reptile called Thrinaxodon, an animal previously reported in another burrow.

As the scan progressed, the three-dimensional reconstruction displayed results beyond expectations: the mammal-like reptile was accompanied by an amphibian Broomistega, belonging to the extinct group of Temnospondyl.

"While discovering the results we were amazed by the quality of the images," says lead author Fernandez, "but the real excitement came when we discovered a second set of teeth completely different from that of the mammal-like reptile. It was really something else."

Besides the pristine preservation of the two skeletons, the team focused on the reasons explaining such an unusual co-habitation. Fernandez explains: "Burrow-sharing by different species exists in the modern world, but it corresponds to a specific pattern. For example, a small visitor is not going to disturb the host. A large visitor can be accepted by the host if it provides some help, like predator vigilance. But neither of these patterns corresponds to what we have discovered in this fossilised burrow."

The scientists gathered all the information to try to reconstitute the events that led to this incredible fossil aggregation, testing scenarios one after another. "It's a fascinating scientific question: what caused the association of these two organisms in the burrow? One of the more obvious possibilities is a predator-prey interaction, but we inspected both skeletons looking for tooth marks or other evidence implying predation, ultimately finding no support for one having attempted to feed on the other," says Carlson.

His colleague, Cook, adds that the consecutive broken ribs resulted from a single, massive trauma. The amphibian clearly survived the injury for some time because the fractures were healing, but it was surely quite handicapped. According to Fernandez this Broomistega is the first complete skeleton of this rare species that has been discovered. "It tells us that this individual was a juvenile and mostly aquatic at that time of its life," he says.

The scientists eventually concluded that the amphibian crawled into the burrow in response to its poor physical condition but was not evicted by the mammal-like reptile.

Numerous Thrinaxodon specimens have been found in South Africa, many of them fossilised in a curled-up position. Abdala says: "I have always been fascinated by the preservation of Thrinaxodon fossils in a curled-up position that show even tiny bones of the skeleton preserved. It's as if they were peacefully resting in shelters at the time of death."

The shelters prevented disturbance of the skeletal remains from scavengers and weathering. "We also think it might reflect a state of torpor called aestivation in response to aridity and absence of food resources," Abdala says.

Piecing all the clues together, the team finally elucidated the enigmatic association, concluding that "the mammal-like reptile, Thrinaxodon, was most probably aestivating in its burrow, a key adaptation response together with a burrowing behaviour which enabled our distant ancestors to survive the most dramatic mass extinction event. This state of torpor explains why the amphibian was not chased out of the burrow," says Rubidge.

Both animals were finally entrapped in the burrow by a sudden flood and preserved together in the sediments for 250 million years.

Tafforeau says: "Thanks to the unique possibilities for high quality imaging of fossils developed during the last decade at the ESRF, these unique specimens remain untouched, protected by their mineral matrix. Who knows what kind of information we'll be able to obtain from them in the future and which would have been completely lost if the specimen had been prepared out of its burrow cast?"

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/n3CQsxObqJs/130622154602.htm

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Week 8 of Jackson trial features experts, emotion

FILE - In this March 5, 2009 file photo, US singer Michael Jackson announces that he is set to play ten live concerts at the London O2 Arena in July, which he announced at a press conference at the London O2 Arena. Charles Czeisler, a sleep expert testified on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Los Angeles that Jackson was suffering from total sleep deprivation at the time of his death in June 2009 and the condition would have shortened his life unless it was properly treated. The Harvard University sleep researcher testified as an expert witness in a lawsuit being pursued by Jackson?s mother, Katherine Jackson, against concert giant AEG Live LLC, claiming the company failed to properly investigate the doctor convicted of giving the superstar a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

FILE - In this March 5, 2009 file photo, US singer Michael Jackson announces that he is set to play ten live concerts at the London O2 Arena in July, which he announced at a press conference at the London O2 Arena. Charles Czeisler, a sleep expert testified on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Los Angeles that Jackson was suffering from total sleep deprivation at the time of his death in June 2009 and the condition would have shortened his life unless it was properly treated. The Harvard University sleep researcher testified as an expert witness in a lawsuit being pursued by Jackson?s mother, Katherine Jackson, against concert giant AEG Live LLC, claiming the company failed to properly investigate the doctor convicted of giving the superstar a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

This handout photo released by the LA Superior Court and presented as evidence shows an undated thank you note from 2009 written by Paris Jackson to chef Kai Chase, thanking her for gifts bought for the family at Disneyland. Chase testified on Tuesday, June 18, 2013, about the lives of Michael Jackson?s children and their father?s devotion to them. Her recollections came in a trial in Los Angeles being pursued by Jackson?s mother, Katherine Jackson, against concert giant AEG Live LLC, claiming the company failed to properly investigate the doctor convicted of giving the superstar a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol in 2009. (AP Photo/LA Superior Court)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A look at key moments this past week in the wrongful death trial in Los Angeles between Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, and concert giant AEG Live LLC, and what is expected at court in the week ahead:

THE CASE

Jackson's mother wants a jury to determine that the promoter of Jackson's planned comeback concerts didn't properly investigate Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter by a criminal jury for Jackson's June 2009 death. AEG's attorney says the case is about personal choice, namely Jackson's decision to have Murray serve as his doctor and give him doses of a powerful anesthetic as a sleep aid. Millions, possibly billions, of dollars are at stake.

WHAT HAPPENED THIS PAST WEEK

? Jackson's personal chef Kai Chase told jurors about Jackson's relationship with his children as well as her impressions that the singer appeared weaker in the final weeks of his life. She recounted numerous tender moments, including a party Jackson threw for his daughter Paris on her 11th birthday, complete with a private circus.

? Charles Czeisler, an expert sleep researcher from Harvard University, told jurors that Jackson was totally sleep-deprived by the time of his death because the singer's use of propofol was not giving him actual sleep but was akin to being in a drug-induced coma.

WHAT THE JURY SAW

? Jurors got their first glimpse of Jackson's oldest children, Prince and Paris, testifying. An AEG lawyer played short clips of the pair to challenge testimony offered by Chase. The two-minute clip of Paris Jackson's testimony showed her alternately looking down and at an AEG Live attorney as she described her father's rocky relationship with her former nanny.

? The jury was shown several images related to how Jackson raised his children, including a handwritten note that Paris wrote Chase thanking her for several gifts she bought for the family while at Disneyland.

QUOTABLE MOMENTS

? "It was the most beautiful expression of love I've ever seen," Chase said about a Cirque du Soleil-style circus that Jackson hired for Paris' 11th birthday.

? "The meticulous detailing of his deterioration here was both profound and sad," Czeisler said of emails documenting Jackson's missed rehearsals and inability to perform songs and dance moves without tour worker being afraid he would hurt himself.

WHAT'S NEXT

? Jurors will hear from an expert in medical conflict of interest cases and may also hear testimony from Tim Leiweke, the former CEO of AEG Live's parent company, the Anshutz Entertainment Group. Leiweke's testimony may be shown to jurors from his videotaped deposition.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-06-22-Jackson-AEG%20Suit-Glance/id-288c79c533314ec7b4634fc730a66252

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