The Pentagon has approved a major expansion of its cybersecurity force to counter a growing threat of hacking and to conduct offensive operations against foreign foes, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing U.S. officials.
The officials, who were not named because the plan is not yet public, said the move would increase the cybersecurity force fivefold, from 900 personnel to a total of 4,900 troops and civilians.
It said senior Pentagon officials made the decision late last year amid a string of attacks, including one that wiped out more than 30,000 computers at a Saudi Arabian state oil company.
The increase in personnel was requested by the head of the Defense Department's Cyber Command.
A Pentagon spokesman had no immediate comment, but said he was aware of the report in the Washington Post.
The plan, the paper said, calls for creating three types of force under the Cyber Command.
"National mission forces," would protect computer systems that undergird electrical grids and other kinds of infrastructure. "Combat mission forces," would help commanders abroad execute attacks or other offensive operations, while "cyber protection forces," would focus on protecting the Defense Department's own systems.
(Reporting by Sarah Lynch; Editing by David Brunnstrom)
DNA-repairing protein may be key to preventing recurrence of some cancersPublic release date: 28-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Zenaida Kotala zenaida.kotala@ucf.edu 407-823-6120 University of Central Florida
Just as the body can become resistant to antibiotics, certain methods of killing cancer tumors can end up creating resistant tumor cells. But a University of Central Florida professor has found a protein present in several types of cancer, including breast and ovarian cancer, which could be helpful in preventing tumors from coming back.
The protein, KLF8, appears to protect tumor cells from drugs aimed at killing them and even aid the tumor cells' ability to regenerate.
"All cells have a DNA-repair mechanism," explained Jihe Zhao, a medical doctor and researcher who in the past few months has published several articles related to the protein in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (http://www.jbc.org/content/287/52/43720) and Oncogene (http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/onc2012545a.html), among others. "That's why we survive constant DNA damage threats. But KLF8 is overexpressed in specific cancers, such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The thought is that if we can stop it from switching on, we may be able to stop the tumors from coming back as part of therapy. We still need to do a lot more research, but it is plausible."
There are between 2.5 million and 2.7 million women who have breast cancer in the United States and 10 to 20 percent will experience a recurrence, according to the American Cancer Society. Current treatment options, depending on the stage of cancer, include surgical removal followed by chemotherapy using a combination of cancer killing drugs. Each year about 22,200 women are also diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
DNA damage-based chemotherapies depend on failure of cancer cells to repair the DNA damage and subsequent cell death, according to the journal article. Aberrant high levels of DNA repair function in the cells likely increase not only the resistance of the cells to such therapies but also the malignancy of the cells due to improper DNA repair-mediated genomic and chromosomal instability.
In the study, Zhao's team tested one specific cancer-fighting drug used in the treatment of breast cancer to determine the role of the protein.
"Indeed, our results have clearly linked the KLF8-promoted DNA repair to the cell resistance to doxorubicin-induced cell death," Zhao said. "It remains to be determined whether KLF8 plays a similar role in repairing DNA damage caused by other types of genotoxic agents such as DNA alkylating agents and ionizing radiation."
Even so, the results suggest that in addition to enhancing the drug resistance of the cancer cells, KLF8 could play a role in disturbing genomic integrity through its aberrant DNA repair function and subsequently contribute to aggressive progression of cancer.
###
Zhao, an associate professor, moved his team to UCF's Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences at the College of Medicine in 2010. Previously he was at Albany Medical College as an assistant professor and before that he spent six years in post-doctoral training in Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. He earned his M.D. from Chinese Medical University, Shenyang, China, and Ph.D. in cancer cell biology from Tohoku University Faculty of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. He sits on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals related to cancer research and reviews research articles for many prestigious journals including Cancer Research, Oncogene, Molecular Cell, Nanomedicine, and Journal of Biological Chemistry, to name a few. His research programs are funded by National Cancer Institute of National Institute of Health, American Cancer Society, Susan Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer Foundation, and others.
50 Years of Achievement: The University of Central Florida, the nation's second-largest university with nearly 60,000 students, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2013. UCF has grown in size, quality, diversity and reputation, and today the university offers more than 200 degree programs at its main campus in Orlando and more than a dozen other locations. Known as America's leading partnership university, UCF is an economic engine attracting and supporting industries vital to the region's success now and into the future. For more information, visit http://today.ucf.edu.
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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.
DNA-repairing protein may be key to preventing recurrence of some cancersPublic release date: 28-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Zenaida Kotala zenaida.kotala@ucf.edu 407-823-6120 University of Central Florida
Just as the body can become resistant to antibiotics, certain methods of killing cancer tumors can end up creating resistant tumor cells. But a University of Central Florida professor has found a protein present in several types of cancer, including breast and ovarian cancer, which could be helpful in preventing tumors from coming back.
The protein, KLF8, appears to protect tumor cells from drugs aimed at killing them and even aid the tumor cells' ability to regenerate.
"All cells have a DNA-repair mechanism," explained Jihe Zhao, a medical doctor and researcher who in the past few months has published several articles related to the protein in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (http://www.jbc.org/content/287/52/43720) and Oncogene (http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/onc2012545a.html), among others. "That's why we survive constant DNA damage threats. But KLF8 is overexpressed in specific cancers, such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The thought is that if we can stop it from switching on, we may be able to stop the tumors from coming back as part of therapy. We still need to do a lot more research, but it is plausible."
There are between 2.5 million and 2.7 million women who have breast cancer in the United States and 10 to 20 percent will experience a recurrence, according to the American Cancer Society. Current treatment options, depending on the stage of cancer, include surgical removal followed by chemotherapy using a combination of cancer killing drugs. Each year about 22,200 women are also diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
DNA damage-based chemotherapies depend on failure of cancer cells to repair the DNA damage and subsequent cell death, according to the journal article. Aberrant high levels of DNA repair function in the cells likely increase not only the resistance of the cells to such therapies but also the malignancy of the cells due to improper DNA repair-mediated genomic and chromosomal instability.
In the study, Zhao's team tested one specific cancer-fighting drug used in the treatment of breast cancer to determine the role of the protein.
"Indeed, our results have clearly linked the KLF8-promoted DNA repair to the cell resistance to doxorubicin-induced cell death," Zhao said. "It remains to be determined whether KLF8 plays a similar role in repairing DNA damage caused by other types of genotoxic agents such as DNA alkylating agents and ionizing radiation."
Even so, the results suggest that in addition to enhancing the drug resistance of the cancer cells, KLF8 could play a role in disturbing genomic integrity through its aberrant DNA repair function and subsequently contribute to aggressive progression of cancer.
###
Zhao, an associate professor, moved his team to UCF's Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences at the College of Medicine in 2010. Previously he was at Albany Medical College as an assistant professor and before that he spent six years in post-doctoral training in Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. He earned his M.D. from Chinese Medical University, Shenyang, China, and Ph.D. in cancer cell biology from Tohoku University Faculty of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. He sits on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals related to cancer research and reviews research articles for many prestigious journals including Cancer Research, Oncogene, Molecular Cell, Nanomedicine, and Journal of Biological Chemistry, to name a few. His research programs are funded by National Cancer Institute of National Institute of Health, American Cancer Society, Susan Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer Foundation, and others.
50 Years of Achievement: The University of Central Florida, the nation's second-largest university with nearly 60,000 students, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2013. UCF has grown in size, quality, diversity and reputation, and today the university offers more than 200 degree programs at its main campus in Orlando and more than a dozen other locations. Known as America's leading partnership university, UCF is an economic engine attracting and supporting industries vital to the region's success now and into the future. For more information, visit http://today.ucf.edu.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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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.
(Reuters) - General Motors Co will add a third production shift at a complex in Brazil, a move it expects will create 2,630 factory and supplier jobs, the company said Sunday in a statement on its website.
GM will add the shift at the Gravata? Industrial Complex, in the south of Brazil, where it makes the Chevrolet Celta and Onix, according to the company.
The move, reported earlier on Sunday by Bloomberg, will create 1,450 new jobs at the plant and another 1,000 at suppliers located at the same facility. The company will create another 180 jobs at a new powertrain plaint.
GM announced the move just after it averted a strike at another Brazilian complex. The company, late Saturday, reached an accord with metalworkers at its Sao Jose dos Campos facility, near the city of Sao Paulo.
The company's plan for the Gravata? plant includes expanding capacity from 230,000 to 380,000 vehicles per year at the Gravata? plant. It is unclear when GM will add the shift.
(Reporting By Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Bernard Orr)
FILE - In this July 18, 2012 file photo, the Empire State, MetLife and Chrysler buildings are seen against a hazy backdrop in New York. Heat rising up from cities such as New York, Paris and Tokyo might be remotely warming up winters far away in some rural parts of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. At least that?s what a surprising study suggests. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
FILE - In this July 18, 2012 file photo, the Empire State, MetLife and Chrysler buildings are seen against a hazy backdrop in New York. Heat rising up from cities such as New York, Paris and Tokyo might be remotely warming up winters far away in some rural parts of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. At least that?s what a surprising study suggests. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Heat rising up from cities such as New York, Paris and Tokyo might be remotely warming up winters far away in some rural parts of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia, a surprising study theorizes.
In an unusual twist, that same urban heat from buildings and cars may be slightly cooling the autumns in much of the Western United States, Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, according to the study published Sunday in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change.
Meteorologists long have known that cities are warmer than rural areas, with the heat of buildings and cars, along with asphalt and roofs that absorb heat. That's called the urban heat island effect and it's long been thought that the heat stayed close to the cities.
But the study, based on a computer model and the Northern Hemisphere, now suggests the heat does something else, albeit indirectly. It travels about half a mile up into the air and then its energy changes the high-altitude currents in the atmosphere that dictate prevailing weather.
"Basically, it changes the flow." said Guang Zhang of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif. He wrote the paper with Aixue Hu at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.
This doesn't change overall global temperature averages significantly, unlike man-made greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Instead it redistributes some of the heat, the scientists said.
The changes seem to vary with the seasons and by region because of the way air currents flow at different times of the year. During the winter, the jet stream is altered and weakened, keeping cold air closer to the Arctic Circle and from dipping down as sharply, Hu explained.
The computer model showed that parts of Siberia and northwestern Canada may get, on average, an extra 1.4 degrees to 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 to 1 degree Celsius) during the winter, which "may not be a bad thing," Zhang said. The effect isn't quite as much in northern North Dakota and Minnesota, where temperatures might be about half a degree warmer (0.3 degrees Celsius), and even less along the East Coast.
In contrast, Europe and the Pacific Northwest are cooled slightly in the winter from this effect. The jet stream changes prevent weather systems from bringing warmer air from the Atlantic to Europe and from the Pacific to the U.S. Northwest, thus cooling those areas a bit, he said.
The biggest cooling occurs in the fall, but Hu said he's not quite sure why that happens.
Several outside scientists said they were surprised by the study results, calling the work "intriguing" and "clever." But they said it would have to be shown in more than one computer model and in repeated experiments before they could accept this theory.
"It's an interesting and rationally carried out study," said David Parker, climate monitoring chief of the United Kingdom meteorology office. "We must be cautious until other models are used to test their hypothesis."
Let me be perfectly honest. I'm over Facebook, to the point that I feel annoyed when I check in on my social network and find absolutely nothing of interest to me. With Twitter, I run hot and cold, some days enjoying the spontaneity and other times feeling like I'm not in sync with my network. Google+ is fine in theory, but remains fairly dry in practice. I am ripe for being drawn into a new social network, and surely many others are, too. The time is right for the next big thing. But could the next big thing just happen to be an old one reinvented? Is MySpace back?
The newly redesigned, revamped, retooled, refocused, and finally relaunched MySpace feels young, fluid, and sexy. It's so completely different from the original MySpace that I can't believe it doesn't have a new name, carrying that old brand and tarnished history around with it for no good reason. The interface so deftly integrates an ever-present music player that I wonder if MySpace is competing with the likes of Facebook and Twitter or iTunes and Spotify... or possibly both. Then again, maybe it competes with neither. The new MySpace shakes off all previous conceptions of social networking to truly become its own thing. If you're into exploring new music, it'll be your thing, too.
Sign Up
From New.MySpace.com, you can sign into the network with an existing MySpace username and password, or if (like me) you deleted that account years ago, you can sign up for a brand new one. You can join using credentials from Facebook or Twitter, which I wish I had done. I signed up via email and later realized I had no way of finding actual friends with whom I might want to connect other than individually sending them an invitation by email. I couldn't find an option after-the-fact to connect to another social network or email people en mass through Gmail, Yahoo! Mail or any of the other usual channels.
In signing up, you can opt for a public or restricted profile, something I always like to see. You can change that status at any time in the future in the settings.
For several years, MySpace has retooled its focus to be squarely on "entertainment," and more specifically than that, music. When you sign up, you can select whether you're a musician, photographer, DJ, promoter, or other kind of artist (including "writer/journalist") or just a fan, and there's an option to skip the step entirely if you prefer to not label yourself.
Fresh Design
Landing inside the new MySpace jolted me for a few moments while I got my bearings on the outrageously unconventional but hugely intriguing (and ultimately successful) design. Instead of vertical scrolling, everything moves horizontally. Instead of cramming little strips of text into a news feed, oversized text and images fill the screen, loudly and proudly. Even the search box launches into its own screen where massive point sized text in all caps nearly pops off the page.
The crux of MySpace is playing music while exploring the network. A music player remains ever-present at the bottom of the screen. Hover over it, and more controls and visibility into your recent play list appear. Surf around the site, and you can play songs, watch music videos, and even listen to radio stations based on genre. Music videos take over the full screen, with a small palette of controls tucked beneath the right edge of the screen and only visible when you mouse in that direction or scroll while the video plays.
What's Inside the Network?
Sure, you can connect with your friends on MySpace, but I get the sense that's not really the point. The point, if I'm to take the very unsubtle hints from the interface and interactive design, is to explore artists, mostly musicians, and listen to their music while looking for something else that's cool, new, unique, or as-yet undiscovered.
The worst part of the new MySpace experience is finding real people who aren't musicians and figuring out what else there is to do, as exploring music gets old fast if you're not into new music or (truth be told for me) barely into music, period. You can cultivate playlists or "mixes" as they're called here, listen to playlists that other people have created, comment on videos and songs and music celebrities, but even all those activities are still focused on music. I managed to find a few videos that were trailers for movies, but other than that, everything really revolves around music.
As mentioned, I couldn't find any easy methods that would allow me to find friends of mine who are already MySpace members. The search function doesn't have advanced features for finding people who meet multiple criteria, like city of residence of work, as LinkedIn has.
New MySpace for Music Lovers
The new MySpace has so much young, sexy, fresh, and innovative energy that I really do recommend most people who work in technology or the entertainment industry sign up immediately. At the very least, if music isn't really your scene, go to explore the intriguing design choices. It probably won't become "the next big thing" in social networking to rival Facebook, but I don't think it's trying to attract the same broad spectrum of people that Facebook has?grandparents and teenagers and major international companies and brands. MySpace has an edgy coolness factor that would be stripped away quickly if it attracted too many of the wrong people. Maybe that makes it a bit exclusive, but what's cooler than exclusivity?
More Internet Reviews:? ??? MySpace ??? Carbonite Currents (beta) ??? Pocket (for Mac) ??? Twitter (for Android) ??? Wanderfly ?? more
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran said Monday it has successfully sent a monkey into space, describing the launch as another step toward Tehran's goal of a manned space flight.
According to a brief report on state TV, the rocket dubbed Pishgam, or Pioneer in Farsi, reached a height of 120 kilometers (72 miles). The report gave no other details on the timing or location of the launch, but said the monkey returned to earth safely.
Iran has long said it seeks to send an astronaut into space as part of its ambitious aerospace program, including plans for a new space center announced last year. In 2010, Iran said it launched an Explorer rocket into space carrying a mouse, turtle and worms.
The U.S. and its allies worry that technology from the space program could also be used to develop long-range missiles that could potentially be armed with nuclear warheads. Iran denied it seeks atomic weapons and claims it is pursuing nuclear reactors only for energy and medical applications.
Iran has announced several successful launches of satellites, dating back to 2005 in a joint project with Russia.
Tehran has not given details of its planned new space facility, but it already has a major satellite launch complex near Semnan, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Tehran. A satellite monitoring facility is located outside Mahdasht, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) west of the Iranian capital.
Iran says it wants to put its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquake-prone nation, improve telecommunications and expand military surveillance in the region.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in lifting a ban on women serving in combat, said women have become integral to the military's success and have shown they are willing to fight and die alongside their male counterparts.
"The time has come for our policies to recognize that reality," Panetta said Thursday at a Pentagon news conference with Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Panetta said that not all women will be able to meet the qualifications to be a combat soldier.
"But everyone is entitled to a chance," he said.
He said the qualifications will not be lowered, and with women playing a broader role, the military will be strengthened.
Panetta said that his visits to Afghanistan and Iraq to see U.S. forces in action demonstrated to him that women should have a chance to perform combat duties if they wish, and if they can meet the qualifications.
"Our military is more capable, and our force is more powerful, when we use all of the great diverse strengths of the American people," Panetta said earlier Thursday at a Pentagon ceremony in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr.
Panetta is expected to step down as Pentagon chief sometime in February. Republican Former Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska has been nominated as his successor, and his Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Jan. 31.
"Every person in today's military has made a solemn commitment to fight, and if necessary to die, for our nation's defense," he said. "We owe it to them to allow them to pursue every avenue of military service for which they are fully prepared and qualified. Their career success and their specific opportunities should be based solely on their ability to successfully carry out an assigned mission. Everyone deserves that chance."
The decision to lift the ban on women serving in combat presents a daunting challenge to top military leaders who now will have to decide which, if any, jobs they believe should be open only to men.
Panetta planned to announce at a Pentagon news conference that more than 230,000 battlefront posts ? many in Army and Marine infantry units and in potentially elite commando jobs ? are now open to women. It will be up to the military service chiefs to recommend and defend whether women should be excluded from any of those more demanding and deadly positions, such as Navy SEALs or the Army's Delta Force.
The historic change, which was recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, overturns a 1994 rule prohibiting women from being assigned to smaller ground combat units.
The change won't take place overnight: Service chiefs will have to develop plans for allowing women to seek the combat positions, a senior military official said. Some jobs may open as soon as this year, while assessments for others, such as special operations forces, may take longer. The services will have until January 2016 to make a case to that some positions should remain closed to women.
Officials briefed The Associated Press on the changes Wednesday on condition of anonymity so they could speak ahead of the official announcement.
There long has been opposition to putting women in combat, based on questions of whether they have the necessary strength and stamina for certain jobs, or whether their presence might hurt unit cohesion.
But as news of Panetta's expected order got out, many members of Congress, including the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., announced their support.
"It reflects the reality of 21st century military operations," Levin said.
Objections were few. Jerry Boykin, executive vice president of the Family Research Council, called the move "another social experiment" that will place unnecessary burdens on military commanders.
"While their focus must remain on winning the battles and protecting their troops, they will now have the distraction of having to provide some separation of the genders during fast-moving and deadly situations," said Boykin, a retired Army lieutenant general. He noted that small units often are in sustained combat for extended periods of time under primal living conditions with no privacy.
Panetta's move comes in his final weeks as Pentagon chief and just days after President Barack Obama's inaugural speech in which he spoke passionately about equal rights for all. The new order expands the department's action of nearly a year ago to open about 14,500 combat positions to women, nearly all of them in the Army.
In addition to questions of strength and performance, there also have been suggestions that the American public would not tolerate large numbers of women being killed in war.
Under the 1994 Pentagon policy, women were prohibited from being assigned to ground combat units below the brigade level. A brigade is roughly 3,500 troops split into several battalions of about 800 soldiers each. Historically, brigades were based farther from the front lines, and they often included top command and support staff.
The necessities of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, however, propelled women into jobs as medics, military police and intelligence officers that were sometimes attached ? but not formally assigned ? to battalions. So while a woman couldn't be assigned as an infantryman in a battalion going out on patrol, she could fly the helicopter supporting the unit, or move in to provide medical aid if troops were injured.
And these conflicts, where battlefield lines are blurred and insurgents can lurk around every corner, have made it almost impossible to keep women clear of combat.
Still, as recent surveys and experiences have shown, it will not be an easy transition. When the Marine Corps sought women to go through its tough infantry course last year, two volunteered, and both failed to complete the course. And there may not be a wide clamoring from women for the more intense, dangerous and difficult jobs, including some infantry and commando positions.
Two lawsuits were filed last year challenging the Pentagon's ban on women serving in combat, adding pressure on officials to overturn the policy. And the military services have been studying the issue and surveying their forces to determine how it may affect performance and morale.
The Joint Chiefs have been meeting regularly on the matter, and they unanimously agreed to send the recommendation to Panetta earlier this month.
A senior military official familiar with the discussions said the chiefs laid out three main principles to guide them as they move through the process. Those were to maintain America's effective fighting force, preserve military readiness and develop a process that would give all service members the best chance to succeed.
Women comprise about 14 percent of the 1.4 million active military personnel. More than 280,000 women have been sent to Iraq, Afghanistan or to jobs in neighboring nations in support of the wars. Of the more than 6,600 U.S. service members who have been killed, 152 have been women.
The senior military official said the military chiefs must report back to Panetta with their initial implementation plans by May 15.
___
AP National Security Writer Robert Burns and AP Broadcast reporter Sagar Meghani contributed to this report.
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