Injustice: Gods Among Us (Xbox 360)

Marvel Comics' lucrative partnership with Capcom produced several of the most beloved fighting games in the genre, starting with X-Men: Children of the Atom and concluding with Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds.?The comic book giant's main rival, DC Comics, hasn't fared nearly as well in the video game space during that same time period, but NetherRealm Studios?the hitmaker behind the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot?aims to change that with Injustice: Gods Among Us.

Injustice: Gods Among Us is a polygonal 2D fighter set in the DC Comics universe that leverages the comic company's rich history to spin an action-packed tale of Superman establishing a fascist regime after the Joker nukes Metropolis and dupes Clark into killing a pregnant Lois Lane. Batman, naturally, leads a resistance force against the Man of Steel?a resistance that sees the formation of odd alliances and the destruction of longtime friendships.

The result is a fast-paced, cinematic fighter with enough meat to appease the casual fighting game fan. Core players who live on deep control schemes, evasions, sidesteps, and other more advanced techniques may find Injustice: Gods Among Us a bit thinner than your average Capcom, SNK, or Arc System Works fighter. Still, it's quite the fun ride if you dive into the combat system. Note: We'll update this review to reflect the multiplayer component when there are more than press people playing on the servers.

Capes and Cowls
Injustice: Gods Among Us' roster features several DC Comics gadgeteers, enhanced humans, and god-level characters including Aquaman, Bane, Batman, Catwoman, Cyborg, Deathstroke, Doomsday, The Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Harley Quinn, Hawkgirl, The Joker, Lex Luthor, Nightwing, Raven, Shazam, Sinestro, Solomon Grundy, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

The line-up is nicely varied, but an inevitable question arises: how does a regular human like The Joker manage to physically harm a meta-human like Superman? NetherRealm Studios provides an in-game solution that appears fairly early on in the story that answers the question (and possibly sets the stage for future DC fighting games).

Challenge of the Super-Friends
With NetherRealm Studios at the helm, one would naturally assume that Injustice: Gods Among Us is nothing more than a capes-and-tights version of its critically-acclaimed Mortal Kombat reboot. After significant time with the game, I can say that's not too far from the truth. Fights have a similar fast-paced, bounce- and juggle-centric flow that will be easier for Mortal Kombat aficionados to pick up than players coming over from a Street Fighter title. The combos, for the most part, don't flow as smoothly as other fighting games. Thankfully, there are two practice modes available to help you master pacing. The truly hardcore will appreciate the in-depth move lists that show how to execute moves, how much damage they deal, and their frame counts.

That said, Injustice: Gods Among Us has several stand out features that separate it from NetherRealm Studios' previous offering. The developer has given Injustice: Gods Among Us its own unique combat system?one that ditches Mortal Kombat's dedicated block button?that plays to the strength of the over-the-top license with incredible super attacks and multi-tier stages that see opponents getting knocked through buildings and into orbit.

The fighting mechanics revolve around a tight three-button control scheme: light attack, medium attack, and hard attack, much like Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. A fourth face button is a dedicated "Trait" button that executes a character-specific feature. Superman's Trait, for example, gives the Man of Steel stat buffs. A few characters (including Batman and Green Arrow) have multiple versions of their Traits. The Trait meter refills over time and doesn't depend on you giving or receiving damage.

Matches are near-continuous battles which play out more like a single fight with tiny breaks than traditional 2-out-of-3-falls affairs. Each fighter has two health bars, and the first one to lose both loses the match. This makes contests feel less tournament-like and more brawl-like?it fits the license well and keeps the action flowing nicely.

The combatants have four-tier super meters that are used to enhance moves or unleash devastating super moves a la Mortal Kombat. Ares' projectile attacks, for example, doles out more damage when you enhance it with meter by tapping your controller's right trigger. As a result, deft meter management is vital, especially in truly competitive play.

It doesn't end there. Clash?a combo-breaker?lets you wager super meter in order to escape punishment. However, it's far more in-depth than Mortal Kombat's breaker. The player willing to sacrifice the most available meter wins the Clash. The Clash initiator does a huge amount of damage to the defender should s/he win; should the defender wins, s/he gets a health bonus. Clash becomes a meta-game in itself as you must determine if winning the Clash, if you're a defender, is worth the super meter sacrifice.

Heroes and villains each have their own fighting styles. Superman is a brawler who pounds away using his fists and select superpowers (like heat vision and ice breath). Batman?who is destined to become a fan favorite?has martial arts moves, batarangs, and a sizeable parry window. Taking a cue from Mortal Kombat, Injustice: Gods Among Us' character models display damage over the course of the battle. Despite the game's devastating attacks?The Joker beats opponents with a crowbar similar to what he did to Robin in A Death in the Family?there's no true gore.? Still, it isn't exactly family-friendly; the image of a smiling, psychotic clown dosing a foe with gasoline and then tossing a match may prove disturbing to some players.

Injustice: Gods Among Us takes another page from Mortal Kombat with its S.T.A.R. Labs Missions, which is a spin on the Challenge Tower. These are a series of single-player missions (240 in total!) which challenge you to complete a variety of tasks. These include both traditional fights (one on one vs. a foe) to being the first to land a certain number of hits on an opponent. The game also includes Battle Missions, which is a gauntlet endurance test. Fights in both the single-player and multiplayer modes earn XP that's used to unlock alternate costumes and other goodies.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/QqftvGdFmQM/0,2817,2416743,00.asp

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National 9/11 memorial starts charging $2 booking fee

Visitors to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum must now pay a $2 service fee to reserve passes online or by phone.

The fee went into effect last month, although there is no charge for admission to the memorial on the World Trade Center site. There's also no charge for same-day passes distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Family members of some 9/11 victims say the fee violates the memorial's mission.

"They're making money off the people that died. It's disgusting," Jim Riches, a retired FDNY deputy chief who lost his firefighter son, told the New York Post.

Memorial President Joe Daniels issued a statement Sunday saying that, "like other similar institutions, in order to help support the operational needs of the 9/11 Memorial we have implemented a service fee, solely for advance reservations."

The memorial's website says the reservation system is temporary until certain construction projects are finished. Tax-funded grants have paid for about $300 million worth of construction, and more than $400 million came from private donations.

The memorial opened in 2011, attracting about 7 million visitors so far to its two reflecting pools with waterfalls that outline the footprints of the fallen towers.

Caitlin Leavey, who lost her father in the September 11th attacks, speaks out on how she found a way to cope and help other victims of terrorism. WNBC's Erika Tarantal reports.

The foundation that runs the memorial estimates that once the project is complete, the memorial and museum will together cost $60 million a year to operate.

The museum is still under construction after an interruption involving a funding fight between the foundation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the 16-acre trade center site. Officials have said that the failure to open the museum on time has thrown off the foundation's financial planning.

Visitors to the exhibit space will see portraits of the nearly 3,000 9/11 victims, hear oral histories and view artifacts such as a staircase World Trade Center workers used to escape.

The Associated Press

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Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2abae185/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C150C177587950Enational0E9110Ememorial0Estarts0Echarging0E20Ebooking0Efee0Dlite/story01.htm

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Gun-Control Push Continues After Boston Bombings (ABC News)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/299417286?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Nanosponges soak up toxins released by bacterial infections and venom

Monday, April 15, 2013

Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have invented a "nanosponge" capable of safely removing a broad class of dangerous toxins from the bloodstream ? including toxins produced by MRSA, E. coli, poisonous snakes and bees. These nanosponges, which thus far have been studied in mice, can neutralize "pore-forming toxins," which destroy cells by poking holes in their cell membranes. Unlike other anti-toxin platforms that need to be custom synthesized for individual toxin type, the nanosponges can absorb different pore-forming toxins regardless of their molecular structures. In a study against alpha-haemolysin toxin from MRSA, pre-innoculation with nanosponges enabled 89 percent of mice to survive lethal doses.

Administering nanosponges after the lethal dose led to 44 percent survival.

The team, led by nanoengineers at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, published the findings in Nature Nanotechnology April 14.

"This is a new way to remove toxins from the bloodstream," said Liangfang Zhang, a nanoengineering professor at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering and the senior author on the study. "Instead of creating specific treatments for individual toxins, we are developing a platform that can neutralize toxins caused by a wide range of pathogens, including MRSA and other antibiotic resistant bacteria," said Zhang. The work could also lead to non-species-specific therapies for venomous snake bites and bee stings, which would make it more likely that health care providers or at-risk individuals will have life-saving treatments available when they need them most.

The researchers are aiming to translate this work into approved therapies. "One of the first applications we are aiming for would be an anti-virulence treatment for MRSA. That's why we studied one of the most virulent toxins from MRSA in our experiments," said "Jack" Che-Ming Hu, the first author on the paper. Hu, now a post-doctoral researcher in Zhang's lab, earned his Ph.D. in bioengineering from UC San Diego in 2011.

Aspects of this work will be presented April 18 at Research Expo, the annual graduate student research and networking event of the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

Nanosponges as Decoys

In order to evade the immune system and remain in circulation in the bloodstream, the nanosponges are wrapped in red blood cell membranes. This red blood cell cloaking technology was developed in Liangfang Zhang's lab at UC San Diego. The researchers previously demonstrated that nanoparticles disguised as red blood cells could be used to deliver cancer-fighting drugs directly to a tumor. Zhang also has a faculty appointment at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have invented a ?nanosponge? capable of safely removing a broad class of dangerous toxins from the bloodstream -- including toxins produced by MRSA, E. coli, poisonous snakes and bees. These nanosponges, which thus far have been studied in mice, can neutralize ?pore-forming toxins,? which destroy cells by poking holes in their cell membranes. Unlike other anti-toxin platforms that need to be custom synthesized for individual toxin type, the nanosponges can absorb different pore-forming toxins regardless of their molecular structures. In a study against alpha-haemolysin toxin from MRSA, pre-innoculation with nanosponges enabled 89 percent of mice to survive lethal doses. Administering nanosponges after the lethal dose led to 44 percent survival. Credit: UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

Red blood cells are one of the primary targets of pore-forming toxins. When a group of toxins all puncture the same cell, forming a pore, uncontrolled ions rush in and the cell dies.

The nanosponges look like red blood cells, and therefore serve as red blood cell decoys that collect the toxins. The nanosponges absorb damaging toxins and divert them away from their cellular targets. The nanosponges had a half-life of 40 hours in the researchers' experiments in mice. Eventually the liver safely metabolized both the nanosponges and the sequestered toxins, with the liver incurring no discernible damage.

Each nanosponge has a diameter of approximately 85 nanometers and is made of a biocompatible polymer core wrapped in segments of red blood cells membranes.

Zhang's team separates the red blood cells from a small sample of blood using a centrifuge and then puts the cells into a solution that causes them to swell and burst, releasing hemoglobin and leaving RBC skins behind. The skins are then mixed with the ball-shaped nanoparticles until they are coated with a red blood cell membrane.

Just one red blood cell membrane can make thousands of nanosponges, which are 3,000 times smaller than a red blood cell. With a single dose, this army of nanosponges floods the blood stream, outnumbering red blood cells and intercepting toxins.

Based on test-tube experiments, the number of toxins each nanosponge could absorb depended on the toxin. For example, approximately 85 alpha-haemolysin toxin produced by MRSA, 30 stretpolysin-O toxins and 850 melittin monomoers, which are part of bee venom.

In mice, administering nanosponges and alpha-haemolysin toxin simultaneously at a toxin-to-nanosponge ratio of 70:1 neutralized the toxins and caused no discernible damage.

One next step, the researchers say, is to pursue clinical trials.

###

University of California - San Diego: http://www.ucsd.edu

Thanks to University of California - San Diego for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127740/Nanosponges_soak_up_toxins_released_by_bacterial_infections_and_venom

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'42' Wins Box Office As 'Scary Movie 5' Strikes Out

Jackie Robinson biopic brings in $27.3 million while the latest horror spoof made just $15.2 million.
By Ryan J. Downey

Chadwick Boseman in "42"
Photo: Legendary Pictures

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705692/42-beats-scary-movie-5-box-office.jhtml

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You?re Going to Be Sorry You Bought That Kindle

High-def finally has come to e-readers.

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/04/kobo-aura-hd/

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The Breast Cancer Gene and the Control of Women's Bodies

When it comes to women?s health, corporate interests and profits have been driving the agenda for far too long. There?s no better example than breast cancer, where companies make billions selling pink ribbon products in the name of the disease, and yet we have too little to show for this money.

The commodification of breast cancer goes all the way to our genes. Most people are shocked and puzzled to learn that one company, Myriad Genetics, holds a patent on the human BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes?often known as ?the breast cancer genes?.

How does a corporation hold a patent on a human gene that exists in every single person? How can a company claim to own a naturally occurring part of your and my genetic code?

I believe they can?t. And next week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a landmark lawsuit challenging Myriad Genetics? patent on the BRCA genes, taking up the fundamental question: Can human genes be patented?

Myriad Genetics? claim on our very DNA creates a profitable corporate monopoly for them, generating approximately half a billion dollars a year in revenue. In the last fiscal quarter alone, Myriad made $126 million off genetic testing for breast cancer?a full 85 percent of their total revenue. But while Myriad is making billions, human gene patents stifle desperately needed research and innovation in breast cancer and create real harm for women at risk of and living with breast cancer. We cannot afford to let corporate profits come before patients. Not when nearly a quarter of a million women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Not when around 40,000 women will die in the coming year.

Through its patent, Myriad controls all variations of the BRCA genes and all possible uses of those genes. No researcher or doctor can provide testing, conduct research or develop new treatments using the BRCA genes without permission from Myriad. And Myriad is extremely protective of its profitable patent, routinely blocking other researchers and clinicians from work which could benefit women living with and at risk of breast cancer.

Myriad?s strict patent enforcement means its test is the only available one to determine whether someone has a genetic variant that increases their risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Other researchers say they could provide a more complete test for around one-fifth of the cost. Currently, Myriad sets the price at more than $3,000, an often prohibitively high cost?all for an outdated test! Too many women cannot afford the test or their insurance will not cover it.

Myriad?s monopoly means there is little to no incentive for the company to identify the significance of rare mutations of the BRCA genes?and other researchers are blocked from studying these rare mutations. Women of color, including African Americans, Latinas and Asian Americans, receive ambiguous test results in disproportionate numbers. Women are told they have a mutation on one or both of their BRCA genes, but Myriad cannot tell them if this mutation is linked to an increased risk of cancer or not?putting these women in an impossible position when considering increased cancer surveillance or even the removal of healthy organs to reduce their risk of cancer. Meanwhile, no one can try to get better answers for them.

Furthermore, Myriad?s patent makes it impossible for women to get a second opinion. Thanks to Myriad?s monopoly, women have no way to verify their genetic test results or get a second opinion about them. This is especially infuriating for women making a decision about whether to remove their healthy breasts and ovaries in an effort to reduce their risk of cancer.

At a time when we desperately need new insights into cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment, the human BRCA patents stops vital scientific research and medical care connected to breast and ovarian cancer. One company serves as a gatekeeper for all research into these genes and therefore sets the research agenda?which is driven by corporate earnings from testing as well as future earnings based on all the bio-data they collect (and hoard) from women?s bodies.

The upcoming case against Myriad, which has been winding through the courts since 2009, is tremendously important for women at risk of and living with breast cancer. It?s also important for all of us who think it?s time to rein in corporations profiting from a monopoly on our health.

Women?s health activists from across the country will be rallying with Breast Cancer Action to outlaw human gene patents on April 15 at the Supreme Court during oral arguments. I hope you will join us in standing strong for all our health. Human genes are for human beings, not corporations.

Karuna Jaggar is the executive director of Breast Cancer Action. Breast Cancer Action is hosting the rally with support from Center for Genetics and Society, Council for Responsible Genetics, Friends of the Earth, International Center for Technology Assessment, Knowledge Ecology International, National Women?s Health Network, Our Bodies Ourselves and Pro-Choice Alliance for Responsible Research.

?Photo of BRCA1 from Wikimedia Commons

Source: http://msmagazine.com/blog/2013/04/13/the-breast-cancer-gene-and-the-control-of-womens-bodies/

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