2 mutations triggered an evolutionary leap 500 million years ago

Public release date: 24-Jun-2013
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Contact: Kevin Jiang
Kevin.Jiang@UCHospitals.edu
773-795-5227
University of Chicago Medical Center

Resurrecting ancient proteins in the lab, researchers discover just 2 mutations set the stage for the evolution of modern hormone signaling

Evolution, it seems, sometimes jumps instead of crawls.

A research team led by a University of Chicago scientist has discovered two key mutations that sparked a hormonal revolution 500 million years ago.

In a feat of "molecular time travel," the researchers resurrected and analyzed the functions of the ancestors of genes that play key roles in modern human reproduction, development, immunity and cancer. By re-creating the same DNA changes that occurred during those genes' ancient history, the team showed that two mutations set the stage for hormones like estrogen, testosterone and cortisol to take on their crucial present-day roles.

"Changes in just two letters of the genetic code in our deep evolutionary past caused a massive shift in the function of one protein and set in motion the evolution of our present-day hormonal and reproductive systems," said Joe Thornton, PhD, professor of human genetics and ecology & evolution at the University of Chicago, who led the study.

"If those two mutations had not happened, our bodies today would have to use different mechanisms to regulate pregnancy, libido, the response to stress, kidney function, inflammation, and the development of male and female characteristics at puberty," Thornton said.

The findings were published online June 24 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Understanding how the genetic code of a protein determines its functions would allow biochemists to better design drugs and predict the effects of mutations on disease. Thornton said the discovery shows how evolutionary analysis of proteins' histories can advance this goal, Before the group's work, it was not previously known how the various steroid receptors in modern species distinguish estrogens from other hormones.

The team, which included researchers from the University of Oregon, Emory University and the Scripps Research Institute, studied the evolution of a family of proteins called steroid hormone receptors, which mediate the effects of hormones on reproduction, development and physiology. Without receptor proteins, these hormones cannot affect the body's cells.

Thornton's group traced how the ancestor of the entire receptor familywhich recognized only estrogensevolved into descendant proteins capable of recognizing other steroid hormones, such as testosterone, progesterone and the stress hormone cortisol.

To do so, the group used a gene "resurrection" strategy. They first inferred the genetic sequences of ancient receptor proteins, using computational methods to work their way back up the tree of life from a database of hundreds of present-day receptor sequences. They then biochemically synthesized these ancient DNA sequences and used molecular assays to determine the receptors' sensitivity to various hormones.

Thornton's team narrowed down the time range during which the capacity to recognize non-estrogen steroids evolved, to a period about 500 million years ago, before the dawn of vertebrate animals on Earth. They then identified the most important mutations that occurred during that interval by introducing them into the reconstructed ancestral proteins. By measuring how the mutations affected the receptor's structure and function, the team could re-create ancient molecular evolution in the laboratory.

They found that just two changes in the ancient receptor's gene sequence caused a 70,000-fold shift in preference away from estrogens toward other steroid hormones. The researchers also used biophysical techniques to identify the precise atomic-level mechanisms by which the mutations affected the protein's functions. Although only a few atoms in the protein were changed, this radically rewired the network of interactions between the receptor and the hormone, leading to a massive change in function.

"Our findings show that new molecular functions can evolve by sudden large leaps due to a few tiny changes in the genetic code," Thornton said. He pointed out that, along with the two key changes in the receptor, additional mutations, the precise effects of which are not yet known, were necessary for the full effects of hormone signaling on the body to evolve.

###

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

---

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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: 24-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kevin Jiang
Kevin.Jiang@UCHospitals.edu
773-795-5227
University of Chicago Medical Center

Resurrecting ancient proteins in the lab, researchers discover just 2 mutations set the stage for the evolution of modern hormone signaling

Evolution, it seems, sometimes jumps instead of crawls.

A research team led by a University of Chicago scientist has discovered two key mutations that sparked a hormonal revolution 500 million years ago.

In a feat of "molecular time travel," the researchers resurrected and analyzed the functions of the ancestors of genes that play key roles in modern human reproduction, development, immunity and cancer. By re-creating the same DNA changes that occurred during those genes' ancient history, the team showed that two mutations set the stage for hormones like estrogen, testosterone and cortisol to take on their crucial present-day roles.

"Changes in just two letters of the genetic code in our deep evolutionary past caused a massive shift in the function of one protein and set in motion the evolution of our present-day hormonal and reproductive systems," said Joe Thornton, PhD, professor of human genetics and ecology & evolution at the University of Chicago, who led the study.

"If those two mutations had not happened, our bodies today would have to use different mechanisms to regulate pregnancy, libido, the response to stress, kidney function, inflammation, and the development of male and female characteristics at puberty," Thornton said.

The findings were published online June 24 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Understanding how the genetic code of a protein determines its functions would allow biochemists to better design drugs and predict the effects of mutations on disease. Thornton said the discovery shows how evolutionary analysis of proteins' histories can advance this goal, Before the group's work, it was not previously known how the various steroid receptors in modern species distinguish estrogens from other hormones.

The team, which included researchers from the University of Oregon, Emory University and the Scripps Research Institute, studied the evolution of a family of proteins called steroid hormone receptors, which mediate the effects of hormones on reproduction, development and physiology. Without receptor proteins, these hormones cannot affect the body's cells.

Thornton's group traced how the ancestor of the entire receptor familywhich recognized only estrogensevolved into descendant proteins capable of recognizing other steroid hormones, such as testosterone, progesterone and the stress hormone cortisol.

To do so, the group used a gene "resurrection" strategy. They first inferred the genetic sequences of ancient receptor proteins, using computational methods to work their way back up the tree of life from a database of hundreds of present-day receptor sequences. They then biochemically synthesized these ancient DNA sequences and used molecular assays to determine the receptors' sensitivity to various hormones.

Thornton's team narrowed down the time range during which the capacity to recognize non-estrogen steroids evolved, to a period about 500 million years ago, before the dawn of vertebrate animals on Earth. They then identified the most important mutations that occurred during that interval by introducing them into the reconstructed ancestral proteins. By measuring how the mutations affected the receptor's structure and function, the team could re-create ancient molecular evolution in the laboratory.

They found that just two changes in the ancient receptor's gene sequence caused a 70,000-fold shift in preference away from estrogens toward other steroid hormones. The researchers also used biophysical techniques to identify the precise atomic-level mechanisms by which the mutations affected the protein's functions. Although only a few atoms in the protein were changed, this radically rewired the network of interactions between the receptor and the hormone, leading to a massive change in function.

"Our findings show that new molecular functions can evolve by sudden large leaps due to a few tiny changes in the genetic code," Thornton said. He pointed out that, along with the two key changes in the receptor, additional mutations, the precise effects of which are not yet known, were necessary for the full effects of hormone signaling on the body to evolve.

###

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uocm-tmt062413.php

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Child fire safety education pays off | Otago Daily Times Online News ...

Hemi Wharerimu (6, front) with his sister Kowhai (4), parents Emily and Nathan Wharerimu revisit the heater which burst into flames in Hemi's room at the weekend. Photo by Craig Baxter.

A Dunedin boy has been credited with saving his family from a potentially lethal house fire by alerting them to a burning heater in his bedroom early on Saturday.

Nathan Wharerimu was surprised to be woken by his son Hemi about 2am, shouting about a fire in his bedroom.

Hemi had woken to find his bedroom heater on fire, so he went to the bedroom next door to get his sister, before heading downstairs to raise the alarm to his parents.

Mr Wharerimu said he grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran up the stairs of his Ryehill St house to his son's room where he found an oil fin heater well alight and the room quickly filling with smoke. He put out the fire, but rang the Fire Brigade as a precaution.

''I don't know why Hemi woke up. The fire alarm batteries had gone flat. This was a good lesson for us.

''We're kicking ourselves for not checking. It could have been done quite easily.

''Cleaning up yesterday, it really brought it home that we could have been organising a funeral today.''

He was thankful for his son's actions, and that his family was celebrating a birthday yesterday rather than a fatality.

''Hemi's a hero - he got some treats the next day, that's for sure,'' his relieved father said.

East Otago Fire Risk Management officer Barry Gibson praised Hemi's actions, but stopped short of calling him a hero.

''What he did was the correct thing to do - to get help and then get out safely.''

Mr Gibson said when children found fire, it was common for them to shut the door and ignore the problem.

He said fire safety officers had spent a lot of time educating children about fire safety and what to do in the event of a fire. He believed the Wharerimu family had benefited from that education.

''Teaching them what to do is always going to be helpful at times like this.''

Thirty-one special smoke alarms for deaf children were handed over to the Otago Association for Deaf Children last Friday night. The $500 wireless alarms set off flashing lights and a vibration under the pillow of a sleeping child.

About $12,500 for the alarms was raised by the Green Island and Balmacewen Lions Clubs, Special Rigs for Special Kids, and donated by the Lloyd Morgan Lions Club Charitable Trust. Alan Hughes from the Otago Association for Deaf Children said the portable alarms offered deaf children, especially teenagers, some independence and security.

-john.lewis@odt.co.nz

Source: http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/262178/child-fire-safety-education-pays

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Pakistan: 10 foreign tourists, local guide killed

Pakistani rescue workers unload the casket of a foreign tourist who was killed by Islamic militants from an ambulance to shift in a morgue of local hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, June 23, 2013. Islamic militants wearing police uniforms shot to death foreign tourists and at least one Pakistani before dawn as they were visiting one of the world?s highest mountains in a remote area of northern Pakistan that has been largely peaceful, officials said. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani rescue workers unload the casket of a foreign tourist who was killed by Islamic militants from an ambulance to shift in a morgue of local hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, June 23, 2013. Islamic militants wearing police uniforms shot to death foreign tourists and at least one Pakistani before dawn as they were visiting one of the world?s highest mountains in a remote area of northern Pakistan that has been largely peaceful, officials said. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

FILE - In this May 4, 2004 file photo, Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain in the world, is seen from Karakorum Highway leading to neighboring China in Pakistan's northern area. Gunmen wearing police uniforms killed 11 foreign tourists and one Pakistani before dawn Sunday, June 23, 2013 as they were visiting one of the world?s highest mountains in a remote area of northern Pakistan, officials said. (AP Photo/Musaf Zaman Kazmi, File)

Pakistani rescue workers unload the casket of a foreign tourist, who was killed by Islamic militants, from an ambulance to shift in a morgue of local hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, June 23, 2013. Islamic militants wearing police uniforms shot to death nine foreign tourists and one Pakistani before dawn as they were visiting one of the world?s highest mountains in a remote area of northern Pakistan that has been largely peaceful, officials said. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani rescue workers unload the casket of a foreign tourist who was killed by Islamic militants, from an ambulance to shift in a morgue of local hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, June 23, 2013. Islamic militants wearing police uniforms shot to death foreign tourists and at least one Pakistani before dawn as they were visiting one of the world?s highest mountains in a remote area of northern Pakistan that has been largely peaceful, officials said. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? Islamic militants disguised as policemen killed 10 foreign climbers and a Pakistani guide in a brazen overnight raid against their campsite at the base of one of the world's tallest mountains in northern Pakistan, officials said Sunday.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack at the base camp of Nanga Parbat, saying it was to avenge the death of their deputy leader in a U.S. drone strike last month.

The attack took place in an area that has largely been peaceful, hundreds of kilometers (miles) from the Taliban's major sanctuaries along the Afghan border. But the militant group, which has been waging a bloody insurgency against the government for years, has shown it has the ability to strike almost anywhere in the country.

The Taliban began their attack by abducting two local guides to take them to the remote base camp in Gilgit-Baltisan, said Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. One of the guides was killed in the shooting, and the other has been detained for questioning. The attackers disguised themselves by wearing uniforms used by the Gilgit Scounts, a paramilitary force that patrols the area, Khan said.

Around 15 gunmen attacked the camp at around 11 p.m. Saturday, said the Alpine Club of Pakistan, which spoke with a local guide, Sawal Faqir, who survived the shooting. They began by beating the mountaineers and taking away any mobile and satellite phones they could find, as well as everyone's money, said the club in a statement.

Some climbers and guides were able to run away, but those that weren't were shot dead, said the club. Faqir was able to hide a satellite phone and eventually used it to notify authorities of the attack.

Attaur Rehman, the home secretary in Gilgit-Baltistan, said 10 foreigners and one Pakistani were killed in the attack. The dead foreigners included three Ukrainians, two Slovakians, two Chinese, one Lithuanian, one Nepalese and one Chinese-American, according to Rehman and tour operators who were working with the climbers. Matt Boland, the acting spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, confirmed that an American citizen was among the dead, but could not say whether it was a dual Chinese national.

The shooting ? one of the worst attacks on foreigners in Pakistan in recent years ? occurred in a stunning part of the country that has seen little violence against tourists, although it has experienced attacks by radical Sunni Muslims on minority Shiites in recent years.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for the attack, saying their Jundul Hafsa faction carried out the shooting as retaliation for the death of the Taliban's deputy leader, Waliur Rehman, in a U.S. drone attack on May 29.

"By killing foreigners, we wanted to give a message to the world to play their role in bringing an end to the drone attacks," Ahsan told The Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location.

The U.S. insists the CIA strikes primarily kill al-Qaida and other militants who threaten the West as well as efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan. In a recent speech, President Barack Obama outlined tighter restrictions on the highly secretive program.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who wants to pursue peace talks with militants threatening his country, has insisted the U.S. stop the drone strikes, saying they violate Pakistan's sovereignty and are counterproductive because they often kill innocent civilians and stoke anti-U.S. sentiment in this nation of 180 million.

Sharif responded to the attack on the camp by vowing "such acts of cruelty and inhumanity would not be tolerated and every effort would be made to make Pakistan a safe place for tourists."

Officials expressed fear the attack would deal a serious blow to Pakistan's tourism industry, already struggling because of the high level of violence in the country.

The interior minister promised to take all measures to ensure the safety of tourists as he addressed the National Assembly, which passed a resolution condemning the incident.

"A lot of tourists come to this area in the summer, and our local people work to earn money from these people," said Syed Mehdi Shah, the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan. "This will not only affect our area, but will adversely affect all of Pakistan."

He said the base camp was cordoned off by police and paramilitary soldiers after the attack, and a military helicopter searched the area.

Volodymyr Lakomov, the Ukrainian ambassador to Pakistan, also condemned the attack and said, "We hope Pakistani authorities will do their best to find the culprits of this crime."

Many foreign tourists stay away from Pakistan because of the country's reputation as being a dangerous place. But a relatively small number of intrepid foreigners visit Gilgit-Baltistan during the summer to marvel at the towering peaks in the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges, including K2, the second-highest mountain in the world.

An even smaller group tries to climb them. Nanga Parbat is over 8,000 meters (26,250 feet) tall and is notoriously difficult to summit. It is known as the "killer mountain" because of numerous mountaineering deaths in the past.

Pakistan has very close ties with neighboring China and is sensitive to any issue that could harm the relationship. Pakistani officials have reached out to representatives from China and Ukraine to convey their sympathies, the Foreign Ministry said.

The government suspended the chief secretary and top police chief in Gilgit-Baltistan following the attack and ordered an inquiry into the incident, said Khan, the interior minister.

The shooting was one of the worst attacks on foreigners in Pakistan in the last decade. A suicide attack outside a hotel in the southern city of Karachi killed 11 French engineers in 2002. In 2009, gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in the eastern city of Lahore, killing six Pakistani policemen, a driver and wounding several players.

___

Associated Press writer Rasool Dawar contributed to this report from Peshawar, Pakistan.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-23-Pakistan/id-715733a14a8e4d55809017e7e9d962ec

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Good news for parents who were stung by children's in-app purchases: Apple is now reaching out to af

Good news for parents who were stung by children's in-app purchases: Apple is now reaching out to affected customers, with disputed purchases under $30 qualifying for a $5 iTunes voucher in compensation and larger sums being fully refunded in cash.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/good-news-for-parents-who-were-stung-by-childrens-in-ap-554579738

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AP PHOTOS: Supermoon looms bright in night sky

Look up in the sky for a super sight: the biggest and brightest full moon of the year.

The so-called supermoon will appear 14 percent larger than normal early Sunday as our celestial neighbor swings closer to Earth. Some may think the supermoon looks more dazzling, but it's actually an optical illusion. The moon looms larger on the horizon next to trees and buildings.

The moon will come within 222,000 miles of Earth and turn full around 7:30 a.m. EDT, making it the best time to view.

Here are AP photos of the supermoon:

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-photos-supermoon-looms-bright-night-sky-025350564.html

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Obama: Time for excuses on immigration is over

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Declaring "the time for excuses is over," President Barack Obama is trumpeting the economic benefits of an immigration overhaul, arguing that a bipartisan bill picking up steam in the Senate would put the nation's loathed deficits and fragile entitlements on better footing.

A recent analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, lawmakers' nonpartisan scorekeeper, was Exhibit A in Obama's weekly radio and Internet address Saturday. The report shows deficits would fall nearly $1 trillion over two decades after the bill becomes law.

What's more, Obama said, the influx of immigrant-driven investment, technology and businesses would give the economy a 5 percent shot in the arm.

"This bipartisan, common-sense bill will help the middle class grow our economy and shrink our deficits, by making sure that every worker in America plays by the same set of rules and pays taxes like everyone else," he said.

Confidence that the overhaul could pass the Senate by impressive margins is growing, and leaders scheduled a test vote on the bill for Monday, with a final vote expected by the end of next week. Although the heart of the bill is a 13-year pathway to citizenship for millions living in the United States illegally, it was a military-style surge to U.S.-Mexican border security, added this week to placate wary Republicans, that was credited for giving the bill a much-needed boost.

Obama didn't specifically address the border amendment Saturday, but he did note that the bill "would continue to strengthen security at our borders." Despite concerns from some Democrats that the security provisions ? 20,000 new agents, 350 miles of new fencing, 18 new unmanned drones ? are overkill, Obama spokesman Jay Carney said Friday it would constitute a "breakthrough" that the White House applauded.

"The bill isn't perfect. It's a compromise," Obama said, reprising a line he's used throughout the process when Democrats have complained the bill has become too conservative. "But it's consistent with the principles that I and others have laid out."

In the Republican address, Rep. John Kline of Minnesota says Obama must show leadership to avoid an impending hike on student loan interest rates. He said it's fortunate that Obama and House Republicans agree on the issue and have both proposed plans that would tie interest rates to the market. He accused Senate Democrats of blocking each plan.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say they are content to let rates double," Kline said. "This eleventh-hour scrambling is a perfect demonstration of why we need to take the politics out of student loans once and for all."

___

Online:

Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: www.youtube.com/HouseConference

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-time-excuses-immigration-over-100152943.html

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Ex-Border Patrol agents get at least 30 years

SAN DIEGO (AP) ? A federal judge on Friday sentenced two former Border Patrol agents to at least 30 years in prison for running a ring that smuggled more than 500 illegal immigrants into the United States.

U.S. District Court Judge John Houston sentenced Raul Villarreal to 35 years in prison for being the ring leader and ordered him to pay a $250,000 fine. His brother, Fidel Villarreal, was sentenced to 30 years for managing the illicit business.

The sentences are among the longest given to border law enforcement officials for corruption.

Houston said he gave the severe sentences to deter other agents who have been entrusted by the American people to protect the border. The judge called their smuggling operation "disgusting" and a threat to national security.

Prosecutors said Raul Villarreal ? who made television appearances as an agency spokesman and once played the role of a smuggler in a public service ad ? recruited his brother to his ring. The veteran agents worked in cahoots with a corrupt Tijuana police officer and a network of others, including foot guides and drivers.

The agents would abandon their job duties manning the border to transport the migrants in Border Patrol vehicles ? sometimes several times a day from the Mexican city of Tijuana to a rugged mountainous area along the California border, federal officials said. Prosecutors said they smuggled in as many as 1,000 Mexicans and Brazilians; the judge put the figure at more than 500.

The ring smuggled in immigrants in groups of 10 and charged them about $10,000 per group, said prosecutors who alleged the brothers made more than $1 million from the scheme. The judge put the figure closer to $700,000.

"This long-term guaranteed method of bringing aliens into the United States was disgusting, pervasive and impacted significantly the national interest," Houston told the court before handing down their sentences.

Raul Villarreal thanked the court for giving him a "good trial, a fair trial." His brother echoed that. They did not show any emotion when the sentences were announced.

The federal probe began in May 2005 when an informant tipped off the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Investigators installed cameras in areas where migrants were dropped off, planted recording devices and placed tracking instruments on Border Patrol vehicles. They also trailed the ring's smuggling operations by airplane.

Prosecutors said when the brothers learned they were being investigated in June 2006, they quit their jobs and fled to Tijuana.

Two years later, the brothers were arrested there and extradited to the U.S. where they were charged with human smuggling, witness tampering and bribery.

Raul Villarreal's attorney, David Nick, had argued the prosecution's witnesses were not credible and surveillance yielded no evidence his client was the ring leader.

Fidel's attorney, Zenia Gilg, echoed that argument, saying the prosecution's case rested largely on two alleged accomplices who were promised leniency for testifying and "inconsistent statements" from migrants.

Gilg said an appeal will be filed.

"I was just disappointed," Gilg said after the sentencing. "The one thing I'm troubled by is the credibility that was given to the government's lead witness (an alleged smuggler). I felt the jury had rejected everything he said."

The Border Patrol has suffered a string of such embarrassments since doubling its size in less than a decade, including the case of an agent who pleaded guilty in April to smuggling marijuana while on duty along the Arizona-Mexico border.

But prosecutors and Judge Houston said the Villarreal case stands out as being among the worst corruption cases.

"They used their positions as Border Patrol agents to line their pockets," Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Salel said, adding later: "Unlike other corruption cases where agents have been led astray to join an organization, these agents created the organization. They called the shots. They were the ring leaders."

The defense asked the judge to request that the brothers be locked up at the same prison, but Houston declined.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-06-21-Border%20Agents-Sentencing/id-1b3bee3bbec54cad8552b0eac36e30f9

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Greece's Democratic Left Party Plans To Quit Coalition Over State TV Closure

By Harry Papachristou and Karolina Tagaris
ATHENS, June 21 (Reuters) - The smallest party in Greece's ruling coalition was set to pull out of the government on Friday after a row over the abrupt closure of the state broadcaster, leaving Prime Minister Antonis Samaras with a sharply reduced majority in parliament.
A majority of lawmakers from the Democratic Left party were in favour of pulling their ministers from Samaras's government as they held emergency talks, a senior party official said.
In a defiant address to Greeks after midnight, Samaras said he was ready to press ahead without the leftists.
"I want us to continue together as we started but I will move on either way," Samaras said in a televised statement following the collapse of three-party talks on the future of the ERT radio and television station.
"Our aim is to conclude our effort to save the country, always with a four-year term in our sights. We hope for the Democratic Left's support."
Party officials said Democratic Left leader Fotis Kouvelis had advised the party's 14 lawmakers to pull their two ministers and two deputy ministers out of the cabinet. At least one of the lawmakers was in favour of staying in government.
The row coincided with a new hitch in Greece's international bailout with the discovery of a potential funding shortfall due to the reluctance of some euro zone central banks to roll over their holdings of Greek government bonds.
Ten-year Greek government bond yields rose to their highest since late April, on course for their biggest daily rise since July 2012, while Greek stocks tumbled 4 percent.
Samaras's conservative New Democracy party and its Socialist PASOK ally jointly have 153 deputies, a majority of three in the country's 300-member parliament.
That means they could manage without the Democratic Left, but a departure of the party would be a major blow, making it tougher to pass unpopular reforms demanded by foreign lenders and emboldening the hard left opposition waiting in the wings.
"The government can't last for long in its new shape. The horse-trading will begin, there will be more crises, they won't be able to push reforms," said John Loulis, a political analyst.
"At some point we'll have early elections whose outcome can't be predicted."
Officials from all three parties ruled out snap elections for now, which would derail the bailout programme.
An ongoing inspection visit to Greece by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund needs to be completed as planned in July to avoid funding problems, the lenders said on Thursday. That may require new savings measures to plug the gap.
At least two independent lawmakers have suggested they would back Samaras's government, which came to power a year ago in an uneasy pro-bailout coalition aimed at ensuring Greece stayed in the euro zone after nearly going bankrupt.
The coalition has bickered over a range of issues from austerity policies to immigration, and lawmakers from Samaras's parties have accused Democratic Left of blocking public sector reforms needed to secure bailout funds.

UNDER PRESSURE
The latest crisis began 10 days ago when Samaras abruptly yanked the ERT public radio and television station off air and fired its 2,600 workers, sparking an outcry from his two allies, unions and journalists.
Calling it a "sinful" and "wasteful" hotbed of political patronage, Samaras said the move was necessary to hit public sector layoff targets set by Greece's EU and IMF lenders.
After initially refusing to restart ERT, Samaras said on Thursday he had offered during talks with his allies to re-hire about 2,000 workers at a new broadcaster, a compromise accepted by PASOK but rejected by the Democratic Left.
"We will no longer have black screens on state TV channels but we are not going to return to the sinful regime," he said.
But Kouvelis insisted on behalf of Democratic Left that all workers be rehired, saying the issue at stake was far bigger than state television broadcasts.
"This issue is ... fundamentally an issue of democracy," said Kouvelis. "We are not responsible for the fact that no common ground was reached."
Evangelos Venizelos, leader of PASOK, the mainstream socialist party which has been decimated by Greece's debt crisis and would likely lose more ground in a new election, also called on Kouvelis to stay in the coalition.
"The situation for the country, the economy and its citizens is especially grave," said Venizelos. "We want the government to continue as a three-party government."
PASOK would continue backing the government even without the Democratic Left, party spokesman Dimitris Karydis said.
Greece's top administrative court on Thursday confirmed an earlier ruling suspending ERT's closure and calling for a transitional, slimmed-down broadcaster to go on air immediately.
ERT remains off air despite Monday's court ruling ordering it back on, though workers have continued broadcasting a 24-hour bootleg version on the Internet from their headquarters.

Related on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/21/democratic-left-quit-greece-coalition-state-tv_n_3477462.html

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Study examines Hispanic youth exposure to food, beverage TV ads

Public release date: 17-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Megan Orciari
Megan.Orciari@Yale.edu
203-432-8520
The JAMA Network Journals

Hispanic preschoolers, children and adolescents viewed, on average about 12 foods ads per day on television in 2010, with the majority of these ads appearing on English-language TV, whereas fast-food represented a higher proportion of the food ads on Spanish-language television, according to a study published Online First by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.

High obesity rates among young people is a public health concern in the United States and exposure to large numbers of advertisements for food products with little or no nutritional value likely contributes to the problem, according to the study background.

Frances Fleming-Milici, Ph.D., and colleagues at Yale University, New Haven, Conn., using a Nielsen panel of television viewing households, measured the amount of food and beverage advertising viewed by Hispanic youth on Spanish-language and English-language TV and compared it with the amount of food and beverage advertising viewed by non-Hispanic youth.

"Given higher rates of obesity and overweight for Hispanic youth, it is important to understand the amount and types of food advertising they view," according to the study.

In 2010, Hispanic preschoolers, children and adolescents viewed 4,218, 4,373 and 4,542 total food and beverage ads on television, respectively, or 11.6 to 12.4 ads per day. Preschoolers viewed 1,038 food advertisements on Spanish-language TV, the most of any age group, according to the study.

Because there is somewhat less food advertising on Spanish-language television, Hispanic children and adolescents viewed 14 percent and 24 percent fewer food ads overall, respectively, compared with non-Hispanic youth. About half of the food ads viewed on Spanish-language TV promoted fast food, cereal and candy.

"Given the potential for greater effects from exposure to Hispanic-targeted advertising, the recent introductions of new media and marketing campaigns targeted to bilingual Hispanic youth, and food companies' stated intentions to increase marketing to Hispanics, continued monitoring of food and beverage marketing to Hispanic youth is required," the authors conclude.

###

(JAMA Pediatr. Published online June 17, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.137. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: This research was supported by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Rudd Foundation. Please see the articles for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

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Public release date: 17-Jun-2013
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Contact: Megan Orciari
Megan.Orciari@Yale.edu
203-432-8520
The JAMA Network Journals

Hispanic preschoolers, children and adolescents viewed, on average about 12 foods ads per day on television in 2010, with the majority of these ads appearing on English-language TV, whereas fast-food represented a higher proportion of the food ads on Spanish-language television, according to a study published Online First by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.

High obesity rates among young people is a public health concern in the United States and exposure to large numbers of advertisements for food products with little or no nutritional value likely contributes to the problem, according to the study background.

Frances Fleming-Milici, Ph.D., and colleagues at Yale University, New Haven, Conn., using a Nielsen panel of television viewing households, measured the amount of food and beverage advertising viewed by Hispanic youth on Spanish-language and English-language TV and compared it with the amount of food and beverage advertising viewed by non-Hispanic youth.

"Given higher rates of obesity and overweight for Hispanic youth, it is important to understand the amount and types of food advertising they view," according to the study.

In 2010, Hispanic preschoolers, children and adolescents viewed 4,218, 4,373 and 4,542 total food and beverage ads on television, respectively, or 11.6 to 12.4 ads per day. Preschoolers viewed 1,038 food advertisements on Spanish-language TV, the most of any age group, according to the study.

Because there is somewhat less food advertising on Spanish-language television, Hispanic children and adolescents viewed 14 percent and 24 percent fewer food ads overall, respectively, compared with non-Hispanic youth. About half of the food ads viewed on Spanish-language TV promoted fast food, cereal and candy.

"Given the potential for greater effects from exposure to Hispanic-targeted advertising, the recent introductions of new media and marketing campaigns targeted to bilingual Hispanic youth, and food companies' stated intentions to increase marketing to Hispanics, continued monitoring of food and beverage marketing to Hispanic youth is required," the authors conclude.

###

(JAMA Pediatr. Published online June 17, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.137. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: This research was supported by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Rudd Foundation. Please see the articles for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/tjnj-seh061313.php

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