Panel criticizes military on sexual assault cases

Senate subcommittee on Personnel Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., left, leans into Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., before Boxer testified on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 13, 2013, before the subcommittee's hearing on sexual assault in the military. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Senate subcommittee on Personnel Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., left, leans into Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., before Boxer testified on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 13, 2013, before the subcommittee's hearing on sexual assault in the military. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 13, 2013, before the Senate subcommittee on Personal hearing to investigate sexual assault in the military. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Former US Army Specialist BriGette McCoy, left, wipes a tear as former US Army Sgt. Rebekah Havrilla, right, hugs Anu Bhagwati, a former Marine officer and Executive Director and Co-Founder of Service Women's Action Network, after they all testified on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 13, 2013, before the Senate subcommittee on Personnel hearing on sexual assault in the military. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Senate subcommittee on Personnel Chair, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., right, talks with former US Army Sgt. Rebekah Havrilla, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 13, 2013, after Havrilla testified before the subcommittee's hearing on sexual assault in the military. Havrilla told the committee that she encountered a "broken" military criminal justice system after she was raped by another service member while serving in Afghanistan. Havrilla described suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and described how her case was eventually closed after senior commanders decided not to pursue charges. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Brian Lewis, former Petty Officer Third Class, U.S. Navy, pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 13, 2013, before the Senate subcommittee on Personnel hearing on sexual assault in the military. Lewis told the subcommittee not to forget that many victims of sexual assault and harassment in the military are male. Lewis said he was raped in 2000 by a non-commissioned officer who outranked him. His commanders ordered him not to report the crime to Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Lewis said he was later misdiagnosed with having a personality disorder and he was discharged from the service in 2001. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? In a stinging rebuke of the military's efforts to curb sexual assault, members of a Senate panel hammered Defense Department officials on Wednesday for making too little progress in combating the crimes and failing to improve a military justice system that victims described as slow and uncaring.

During a two-part hearing, the panel heard harrowing testimony from several victims, who said military justice is broken and pushed for Congress to take action to stem the rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment that they said are pervasive in all the service branches.

Pentagon officials said they are taking the problem seriously. "Sexual assault in the military is not only an abhorrent crime that does enormous harm to the victim, but it is also a virulent attack on the discipline and good order on which military cohesion depends," said Robert Taylor, the Pentagon's acting general counsel.

"The Air Force has zero tolerance for this offense," added Lt. Gen. Richard Harding, the judge advocate general of the Air Force.

But lawmakers pointed to a decision by an Air Force general to reverse a guilty verdict in a sexual assault case as evidence of how the military fails the victims who come forward to report the crimes. Under military law, a commander who convenes a court-martial is known as the convening authority and has the sole discretion to reduce or set aside guilty verdicts and sentences or to reverse a jury's verdict.

Her voice rising, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said all the training and all the promises of "zero tolerance" from the witnesses amounted to nothing if a convening authority is the only individual who can decide whether to overturn a case. Gillibrand is the chairwoman of the Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittee.

"I appreciate the work you're doing, but it's not enough," she told the military officers arrayed at a long witness table.

Rebekah Havrilla, a former Army sergeant, told the panel that she encountered a "broken" military criminal justice system after she was raped by another service member while serving in Afghanistan. Havrilla described suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and described how her case was eventually closed after senior commanders decided not to pursue charges.

"What we need is a military with a fair and impartial criminal justice system, one that is run by professional and legal experts, not unit commanders," Havrilla said.

BriGette McCoy, a former Army specialist and a Persian Gulf war veteran, said she was raped when she was 18 and at her first duty station. But she did not report it. Three years later, she reported being sexually harassed and asked for an apology and to be removed from working directly with the offender.

"They did remove me from his team and his formal apology consisted of him driving by me on base and saying 'sorry' out of his open car door window," McCoy told the subcommittee.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered a review of Air Force Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin's decision to overturn the sexual assault conviction against Lt. Col. James Wilkerson, a former inspector general at Aviano Air Base in Italy.

The case is generating support for legislation that would prevent commanding officers from overturning rulings made by judges and juries at courts-martial proceedings.

"It appears to me that the Aviano general has really failed," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., referring to Franklin.

Anu Bhagwati of the Service Women's Action Network told the panel that commanders are unable to make impartial decisions because they usually have a professional relationship with the accused and, often times, with the victim as well. Bhagwati, a former Marine Corps captain, said court-martial cases should be left in the hands of "trained, professional, disinterested prosecutors."

Gillibrand called the Wilkerson case "shocking" and promised to take a hard look at the military justice system. Nearly 2,500 sexual violence cases in the military services were reported in 2011, but only 240 made it to trial, Gillibrand said.

Wilkerson was found guilty on Nov. 2 by a jury of military officers on charges of abusive sexual contact, aggravated sexual assault and three instances of conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman. The victim was a civilian employee. Wilkerson was sentenced to a year in prison and dismissal from the service.

Wilkerson was at the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, S.C., until Feb. 26, when Franklin exercised his discretion as the convening authority. Franklin reviewed the case over a three-week period and concluded "that the entire body of evidence was insufficient to meet the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt," Hagel wrote in a March 7 letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.

But Hagel told Boxer neither he nor the Air Force secretary is empowered to overrule Franklin, who is the commander of the 3rd Air Force at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Boxer said during testimony before the subcommittee that "immediate steps must be taken to prevent senior commanders from having the ability to unilaterally overturn a decision or sentence by a military court."

Taylor, the acting general counsel, said in his written testimony the Defense Department is examining the role the convening authority plays, including a commander's power to set aside a court-martial's findings. But Taylor also stressed that commanders have long held this authority and it is directly tied to the need for the "portability" of military justice throughout the world and the need for senior officers to maintain discipline in the ranks.

In the wake of Franklin's decision, Reps. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, and Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., introduced legislation Tuesday in the House that would strip military commanders of the power to overturn legal decisions or lessen sentences. Their bill would amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to take away the power of a convening authority to dismiss, commute, lessen or order a rehearing after a panel or judge has found the accused guilty and rendered a punishment.

McCaskill plans to introduce legislation that would change the Uniform Code of Military Justice by preventing a convening authority from overturning a decision reached by a jury. The legislation also would require the convening authority to issue a written justification for any action.

"This is not a crime that we're going to train our way out of," said McCaskill, who emphasized the need for the strong and effective prosecution of offenders.

Brian Lewis, a former Navy petty officer, told the subcommittee not to forget that many victims of sexual assault and harassment in the military are male. Lewis said he was raped in 2000 by a non-commissioned officer who outranked him. His commanders ordered him not to report the crime to Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Lewis said he was later misdiagnosed with having a personality disorder and he was discharged from the service in 2001.

"I carry my discharge as an official and permanent symbol of shame, on top of the trauma of the physical attack, the retaliation and its aftermath," Lewis said.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, asked whether the culture would change if the laws were overhauled. Lewis described the limitations of military law, arguing that it was unconscionable that punishment is solely at the discretion of a single individual and the offense of sexual assault is merely a year in prison.

"The military does not value what happened to the victim," Lewis said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-13-US-Military-Sexual-Assault/id-668c36f60fc549bfb04ccd159e6e0ca6

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Stay with him until I can replace him? - Talk About Marriage

General Relationship Discussion Although anyone can post anywhere on Talk About Marriage, this section is for people interested in general relationship and marriage advice.

Today, 02:15 PM	? #1 (permalink)
Member ? Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Virginia Posts: 209	Yes, I know how that comes across. But let me give you some background?. For the past 6 months I have been dating a pretty great guy, ?SD?. I had known him for a few years professionally (customer me /service provider - him) prior to getting to know him more personally. Admittedly it started out mostly as a FWB situation as both of us had just gotten out of serious relationships. But as time went on and we spent more and more time together feelings started to develop on both our parts. We see each other 4-5 times a week and he has become one of my best friends. He surprised me at Christmas by taking a few days off of work and driving 6 hours to spend the holiday with me and my family. I will bring him and his employees lunch sometimes and I will dog/cat/house sit for him when he travels. By all accounts we are in a loving and happy relationship. But, (there is always a but?..) Even though we are not dating and/or having sex with anyone else (that I know of!) we are not officially exclusive or committed. Never had those formal discussions. But a few weeks ago this started to weigh heavily on me. My feelings for him grew and, in turn, so did my expectations for ?us?. So when he returned from seeing his daughter in another country, I decided to sit him down. I told him how I felt about him and told him that I wanted a more solid foundation. I told him I felt like I was floundering. I explained that I was emotionally ready to be in a more serious relationship; whether that was with him or with someone else. Although he had a lot of wonderful things to say about me and what we had together he couldn?t give me what I was asking for. I took a few days to think about it and made the decision to break it off. The last thing SD said to me that night was, ?For what it?s worth, I love you?. That both melted and broke my heart but I wanted more than just words. For the first week without him I was downright miserable. Not because I was lonely but because I missed him so much. The following week was better because I knew I made the right choice for me. But last weekend he had flowers delivered to my home with a lovely ?missing you? card attached. I texted him to come over that night and when he did we basically picked up where we left off?.with one exception?.. I?ve thrown my walls back up. I removed any and all expectations I had of him and for us. I am compartmentalizing my feelings. I have adopted a new attitude that if I see him, I see him. If I don?t, I don?t. I stopped doing all those little relationship things couples do. I?m reverting back to our initial FWB arrangement. But I?m still happy. I love spending time with him. The sex is great. He?s still my best friend. But in the meantime I am now very much open to meeting someone else but I don?t want to give up this wonderful relationship until I do. Is this wrong? Unhealthy? I am a pretty balanced person overall in life. I gave SD the ?right of first refusal? when it came to taking our relationship to the next level but he passed it up. But if I can keep it real and keep what we have in perspective then why not keep him until I can replace him? Because when I do meet someone else I?d be ending all contact with SD because I feel it would be disrespectful to new guy. And I should also note that the reason I can keep things in perspective now is because I found out that when his ex-girlfriend and daughter come back to the United States they are going to have to live with him for an undetermined amount of time. EXGF was deported back to her country and she took their daughter with her. But once she is able to re-enter the US he is going to support/sponsor her. If he doesn?t then she won?t come back to the United States with their daughter as she has no place to live here. So, yeah. turns out this is why he doesn?t want to move us to a new level. Or it could be complete bulls**t for all I know and EXGF isn?t really an ?ex? and I?m just a bookmark. But that?s another thread for another time!
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Today, 02:29 PM	? #2 (permalink)
Member ? Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 401	Irish, I have read your previous threads and posts so I offer the following opinion. You know your reality on the ground best but from an outside looking point of view I offer the following: You and you SO came out of serious relationships and within 6 months of that you became "friends with benefits." Usually when a woman has sex with a man she naturally expects an emotional connection and a relationship to follow. Very FEW women that I know can truly have sex without feelings. This is more of a male trait. Men, on the other hand, can become sexually involved without emotion. It sounds like this is what happened to you. Is it possible that you two are just rebound relationships for each other? Based on your SO's current situation he is going to have to be heavily invested in his ex in order to be with his daughter. Will you feel like an outsider there? What is his relationship to his ex? You hit on it in your post, is she truly an ex? Your question of whether you should stay with him until you replace him is entirely up to you based on what you want. You wanted more than "friends with benefits" and he said no. Time to reassess what you value and then decide if you want FWB until you can find someone else. I do think you are right to have your walls up. You showed yourself to him and he rejected you. That must have hurt. In the end, you know your reality better than anyone else and what is in your heart. Make the best choice for you.
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Today, 02:38 PM	? #3 (permalink)
Member ? Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Kansas City Metro area Posts: 2,202	Quote: The last thing SD said to me that night was, ?For what it?s worth, I love you?. The best response for this is "Well, it's worth exactly the amount of commitment you're willing to prove." The following week was better because I knew I made the right choice for me. But last weekend he had flowers delivered to my home with a lovely ?missing you? card attached. I texted him to come over that night and when he did we basically picked up where we left off?.with one exception?.. If a guy loves you, he'll find a way to keep you. If you let yourself go back to the same ol', then expect the same result. You said you wanted more, and now you're going to shortchange yourself by being unavailable to at least some extent when another quality man comes along. There are some men who won't have a problem with your arrangement, and some who will. I'm a person who multi-dated and did not commit until I saw commitment, and I did not feel guilty about my stance. However, not all women can do that, and not all men are accepting of it. How do you think the kind of guy you're attracted to will respond? I?m reverting back to our initial FWB arrangement. But I?m still happy. I love spending time with him. The sex is great. He?s still my best friend. But in the meantime I am now very much open to meeting someone else but I don?t want to give up this wonderful relationship until I do. You're asking for a ton of heartbreak, especially if the stuff below IS what he sees as his permanent relationship. The fact that she took her daughter and he seems ok with supporting her is not something I'd allow these days. She can send their daughter for visits. She doesn't have to be there just because daughter is. If he and she haven't had arguments over it that caused him to complain about having to foot a bill, etc., then it's probably because he's perfectly ok with supporting her - a clear sign that she's not such an EX after all. But once she is able to re-enter the US he is going to support/sponsor her. If he doesn?t then she won?t come back to the United States with their daughter as she has no place to live here. So, yeah. turns out this is why he doesn?t want to move us to a new level. Or it could be complete bulls**t for all I know and EXGF isn?t really an ?ex? and I?m just a bookmark. But that?s another thread for another time!
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Today, 03:03 PM	? #9 (permalink)
Member ? Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Virginia Posts: 209	Married in VA: Yes, it's very possible we were both rebounds for each other which is why we kept the relationship casual at first. And you are right, it is difficult for women to have a FWB without eventually feeling an emotional connection. I expected that. But both of us were pretty blindsided by the fact that we got as close as we did. And no, I would not be able to accept his ex coming back and living in his home. A couple months ago he told me there was a possibility her citizenship was going to go through and she'd be back "within a few days". Even got plane tickets purchased. I broke it off. We both cried. It was very painful to say goodbye. And his relationship with his ex is friendly. It has to be. She has his daughter. Kathy: When you read what you wrote, ""Well, it's worth exactly the amount of commitment you're willing to prove", my stomach sank. Because you are absolutely right. I really cherished those words he said to me and now they seem so empty because of his actions. But I needed to hear it. As far as his daughter, he wanted to keep his daughter here in the States (she is legal) but he works so many long hours he didn't feel it was fair to his daughter to not have a parent around full time. And he has no family support. He doesn't want to be a long distance father either. He has a son from a previous marriage who was born when he was stationed in Iraq. He made many mistakes with his son and wasn't there for him. Even today his son calls him by his first name. He doesn't want to repeat those mistakes. It's just an overall sad situation. I very much desire a committed, happy and healthy relationship. Someone once said to me, "You won't find what you want until you stop accepting what you don't want". I stopped accepted the fact that SD can give me what I want so I'm keeping my options open. But you both are giving me a lot to think about. I need these outside perspectives. I am not able to see this situation for what it is sometimes.
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Source: http://talkaboutmarriage.com/general-relationship-discussion/69332-stay-him-until-i-can-replace-him.html

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Behold! Photos of early iPhone development prototypes!

An early iPhone prototype has surfaced, different from others that we?ve seen before, and much closer akin to the aspect ratio we're now used to in the iPad. It's also caught on camera. While we have previously seen design concepts and renders, it?s rare that we see a development prototype. From early 2005, the prototype has a 5"?7" screen and is two inches thick. It also has a number of ports that would never make it to the final iPhone design. According to Ars Technica:

As seen in the gallery above, this early prototype has a number of ports that we're used to seeing more commonly on computers than on mobile devices, including USB ports, an Ethernet port, and even a serial port. Apple never intended for all of these to make it into the final product, of course?our source said that because this was a development prototype, ports like Ethernet and serial were included simply to make working on the device easier. Still, "at that early date no one knew what [the final device] would be," the source emphasized, highlighting the constantly changing nature of Apple's development process.

The engineering team was impressed that they were essentially running Mac OS X on a machine of that size. In only two years, this device would be refined and become the iPhone we all know and love, making its first appearence at Macworld 2007.

It?s funny to think that from this device, and others like it, no doubt, has come most if not all of Apple?s current success. Years from now, we?ll undoubtedly see more such prototypes for devices that we haven?t even seen yet.

Source: Ars Technica. Image: Ars Technica

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/hR2fxLAU9to/story01.htm

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Opposition uses tablet to speak out in parliament

Leader of Poland?s nationalist Law and Justice opposition party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski uses his tablet to bypass Parliament rules banning non-lawmakers from taking the floor. Himself a lawmaker authorized to speak from the podium, Kaczynski plays to the lower chamber a pre-recorded speech by Piotr Glinski, his party?s shadow cabinet prime minister. Kaczynski took the floor during a debate over his own motion for a vote of no confidence in the incumbent Cabinet of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday, March 7, 2013. The vote scheduled for Friday is expected to fail for lack of sufficient support. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Leader of Poland?s nationalist Law and Justice opposition party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski uses his tablet to bypass Parliament rules banning non-lawmakers from taking the floor. Himself a lawmaker authorized to speak from the podium, Kaczynski plays to the lower chamber a pre-recorded speech by Piotr Glinski, his party?s shadow cabinet prime minister. Kaczynski took the floor during a debate over his own motion for a vote of no confidence in the incumbent Cabinet of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday, March 7, 2013. The vote scheduled for Friday is expected to fail for lack of sufficient support. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Leader of Poland?s nationalist Law and Justice opposition party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski uses his tablet to bypass Parliament rules banning non-lawmakers from taking the floor. Himself a lawmaker authorized to speak from the podium, Kaczynski plays to the lower chamber a pre-recorded speech by Piotr Glinski, his party?s shadow cabinet prime minister. Kaczynski took the floor during a debate over his own motion for a vote of no confidence in the incumbent Cabinet of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday, March 7, 2013. The vote scheduled for Friday is expected to fail for lack of sufficient support. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) ? In Poland, speaking out in parliament is a privilege mostly reserved for lawmakers, but the opposition has skirted that regulation with the help of a hand-held tablet computer.

Nationalist opposition party leader and lawmaker Jaroslaw Kaczynski has introduced a non-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and a vote is expected Friday.

But when Kaczynski stood up to speak in the lower Chamber on Thursday, he surprised lawmakers by taking out his tablet and playing a pre-recorded policy speech by Piotr Glinski, his Law and Justice party's shadow prime minister, a non-elected official.

The public-relations stunt was apparently aimed at showing Glinski's leadership potential.

Poland's Cabinet is expected to survive Friday's vote.

Special permission is required for non-members to take the floor in parliament.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-03-07-Poland-Tablet%20Politics/id-5ce0ceee779f4c269cc05572872b5e84

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Idaho first state to have fetal pain law rejected

BOISE, Idaho (AP) ? Idaho has become the first state to have its so-called fetal pain law banning abortions after 20 weeks struck down by the federal courts.

The decision from U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill was handed down Wednesday as part of a ruling that also overturns other abortion restrictions in Idaho.

The case won't govern what happens outside the western states that are part of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. But it could have an effect on a fetal pain law in Arizona, which is part of the 9th Circuit. A similar challenge has been raised in that state.

Ten states in all have enacted fetal pain laws since 2010 under the disputed premise that a fetus may be capable of feeling pain after 20 weeks. They include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-07-US-Fetal-Pain-Abortion-Lawsuit/id-ef819eb05ef44b7e9bd91085c8f108ee

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Support cells found in human brain make mice smarter

Mar. 7, 2013 ? Glial cells -- a family of cells found in the human central nervous system and, until recently, considered mere "housekeepers" -- now appear to be essential to the unique complexity of the human brain. Scientists reached this conclusion after demonstrating that when transplanted into mice, these human cells could influence communication within the brain, allowing the animals to learn more rapidly.

The study, out today in the journal Cell Stem Cell, suggests that the evolution of a subset of glia called astrocytes -- which are larger and more complex in humans than other species -- may have been one of the key events that led to the higher cognitive functions that distinguish us from other species.

"This study indicates that glia are not only essential to neural transmission, but also suggest that the development of human cognition may reflect the evolution of human-specific glial form and function," said University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) neurologist Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., co-senior author of the study. "We believe that this is the first demonstration that human glia have unique functional advantages. This finding also provides us with a fundamentally new model to investigate a range of diseases in which these cells may play a role."

In recent years scientists have begun to understand and appreciate the role that glia cells -- and more specifically astrocytes -- play in brain function. Researchers at URMC have been pioneers in unlocking the secrets of astrocytes and demonstrating that they not only serve to support the neurons in the brain, but also communicate with neurons and each other.

"The role of the astrocyte is to provide the perfect environment for neural transmission," said Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., co-senior author of the study and director, along with Goldman, of the URMC Center for Translational Neuromedicine. "As the same time, we've observed that as these cells have evolved in complexity, size, and diversity -- as they have in humans -- brain function becomes more and more complex."

Astrocytes are far more abundant, larger, and diverse in the human brain compared to other species. In humans, individual astrocytes project scores of fibers that can simultaneously connect with large numbers of neurons, and in particular their synapses, the points of communication where two adjoining neurons meet. As a result, individual human astrocytes can potentially coordinate the activity of thousands of synapses, far more than in mice.

It was this observation that suggested that human astrocytes might play a significant role in integrating and coordinating the more complex signaling activity found in human brains, and hence help regulate our higher cognitive functions. This in turn suggested that, when transplanted into mice, human glia may influence underlying patterns of neural activity.

"In a fundamental sense are we different from lower species," said Goldman. "Our advanced cognitive processing capabilities exist not only because of the size and complexity of our neural networks, but also because of the increase in functional capabilities and coordination afforded by human glia."

"I have always found the concept that the human brain is more capable because we have more complex neural networks to be a little too simple, because if you put the entire neural network and all of its activity together all you just end up with a super computer," said Nedergaard. "But human cognition is far more than just processing data, it is also [composed of] the coordination of emotion with memory that informs our higher abilities to abstract and learn."

The research team decided to determine if human glial cells might provide the human brain with unique capabilities by seeing what happened when these cells were allowed to co-exist with the normal nerve cells of mice. The scientists first isolated human glial progenitors -- the cells in the central nervous system that give rise to astrocytes -- from brain tissue. They then transplanted these cells into the brains of neonatal mice. As the mice matured, the human glial cells outcompeted the host's native glial cells, while at the same time leaving the existing neural network intact.

"The human glia cells essentially took over to the point where virtually all of the glial progenitor cells and a large proportion of the astrocytes in the mice were of human origin, and essentially developed and behaved as they would have in a person's brain," said Goldman.

The team then set out to examine the functional impact that these cells had on the animals' brains, specifically the speed and retention of signals between cells in the brain and its plasticity -- the ability of the brain to form new memories and learn new tasks.

They found that two important indicators of brain function drastically improved in the mice with human glia. First, when measuring a phenomenon called calcium wave -- the speed and distance at which a signal spreads within and among adjoining astrocytes in the brain -- the researchers noted that the speed of wave transmission in the transplanted mice was faster than normally observed in mice, and more similar to that of human brain tissue.

Second, the researchers also looked at long-term potentiation (LTP), a process that measures how long the neurons in the brain are affected by a brief electrical stimulation. LTP is considered one of the central molecular mechanism underlying learning and memory. In this test as well, the researchers found that the transplanted mice developed more rapid and sustained LTP, suggesting their improved learning capability.

On the basis of these findings, the team then evaluated the mice in a series of behavioral tasks designed to test memory and learning ability. They found that the transplanted mice were more rapid learners and both acquired new associations and performed a variety of tasks significantly faster than mice without the human glial cells.

"The bottom line is that these mice demonstrated an increase in plasticity and learning within their existing neural networks, essentially changing their functional capabilities," said Goldman. "This tells us that human glia have a species-specific role in intellectual capability and cognitive processing. While we've suspected for a while that this might be the case, this is really the first proof of this point."

The researchers believe that this animal model, which they call the human glial chimeric mouse, now provides the medical community with a new tool to understand and treat neurological disorders to which glial abnormalities contribute. This may be especially relevant for those neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases that appear more in humans than other species. In these disorders, the human-specific features of astrocytes may be of special importance to the disease process. Goldman, Nedergaard, and their colleagues are already using these mice to study a range of human neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders to which glial pathology may contribute.

Additional authors include Xiaoning Han, Michel Chen, Fushun Wang, Martha Windrem, Su Wang, Steven Shanz, Qiwu Xu, Nancy Ann Oberheim, Lane Bekar, Sarah Betstadt, and Takahiro Takano with URMC, and Alcino Silva with the University of California Los Angeles. The study was supported by the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mather Charitable Foundation, the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the National Institutes of Health.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Rochester Medical Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Han et al. Forebrain engraftment by human glial progenitor cells enhances synaptic plasticity and learning in adult mice. Cell Stem Cell, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2012.12.015

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/Fpk6N5gMpYs/130307145305.htm

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A diplomatic natural, Kerry hits ground running

DOHA, Qatar (AP) ? With the smile of a seasoned politician, a flair for languages and a vast repertoire of personal anecdotes, Secretary of State John Kerry schmoozed and cajoled his way through Europe and the Middle East on his first trip abroad as America's top envoy. But as far as diplomatic triumphs go, Dennis Rodman stole the show.

Kerry plunged into his first official overseas voyage by touring the capitals of America's traditional Western European allies, charming his hosts in Britain, France, Germany and Italy with his patrician bearing, fluent French, passable German and smattering of Italian.

He greeted officials with the comfortable blue-blooded bonhomie of a well-heeled man at ease in the grand salons of London, Paris, Berlin and Rome, yet one still deeply affected by his combat experience in Vietnam, something he made clear to German youth in a town hall meeting on the second stop of the trip.

Leaving Europe behind, Kerry immersed himself in the byzantine politics of a volatile Mideast that is struggling with the chaotic aftermath of the Arab Spring, an area in which the Obama administration must toe a delicate line between advocacy and unwanted interference.

In Rome and Cairo, he doled out modest aid packages to the Syrian opposition and to Egypt's foundering Islamist government with an appeal for that country's bickering politicians to save their nation from economic ruin ? at the same time Congress and the Obama administration were bickering about cuts to the United States' budget. In Ankara and Riyadh, he rebuked the Turks over anti-Israel rhetoric and warned Iran about its nuclear program.

The silver-maned, slightly hard-of-hearing, 69-year-old Kerry also announced a significant shift in policy toward the Free Syrian Army, providing nonlethal assistance directly to the armed rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Assad.

However, the biggest diplomatic coup during Kerry's trip sprung from his antithesis: a flamboyant, retired NBA star with multiple body piercings who became the first American to have ever met North Korea's reclusive young leader, Kim Jong-Un.

Thus it was Dennis Keith Rodman, former Chicago Bull, Southeastern Oklahoma State attendee, basketball journeyman and Madonna boy toy, and not Yale-educated John Forbes Kerry, former Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential nominee, who was the talk of the foreign policy cocktail circuit back home.

Kerry told NBC on Tuesday that Rodman "was a great basketball player, and as a diplomat, he was a great basketball player. That's where we'll leave it."

Still, Kerry soldiered on, conscious of the legacy left by his predecessor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, but determined to make his own mark on U.S. diplomacy as America's 68th secretary of state and clean up some long unfinished business along with way.

At a meeting with U.S. Embassy staff in Abu Dhabi, the ex-chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee described himself as a "recovering politician and budding diplomat" and reprised the biggest laugh line of his speech to the State Department on his first on the job.

"I have big heels to fill," he said to chuckles. "The big test, obviously, as I mentioned, is: Can a man do this job now?"

Kerry was apparently unfazed when nearly half of the Egyptian opposition figures invited to meet him at a roundtable at a luxury Cairo hotel didn't show up. They complained that the United States is siding with President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. Nonetheless, Kerry gave his message that politicians of all sides have to compromise for the good of the nation.

Kerry dutifully reassured Europeans that the Obama administration's much-publicized pivot to Asia won't leave them bereft of the trans-Atlantic ally that protected them from Cold War Soviet ambitions. He made clear to Gulf Arabs wary of Iran's growing assertiveness that Washington would not allow Tehran to get nukes and run roughshod through the region.

And, in a nod toward hopes for possible progress on the Mideast peace front, he had lunch Monday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Saudi Arabia.

The first white man to run the State Department since Warren Christopher stepped down in 1997, Kerry appears to be a throwback to the "pale, male, Yale" era of American diplomacy when the striped-pants Ivy League set ruled the roost in Foggy Bottom and U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.

But despite the wardrobe of custom suits and a rack of pink and teal neckties from a Martha's Vineyard clothier that proudly caters to the preppy crowd, Kerry strove to present an everyman persona, notably to embassy staff.

He recalled his time growing up as a foreign service officer's child in post-World War II Europe. He promised to fight for funding for them even as budget cuts kick in.

"When I was the son of a foreign service officer and went to another country, and changed schools, I didn't really know where I was, and wasn't too sure why," he told employees at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, after pulling about two dozen of their offspring onto the dais with him to pose for pictures.

"And, I'll tell you folks, you put up with a lot in that respect," he said. "I know what it means to be in this great endeavor."

After nearly falling off the stage in an embassy reception room in Rome, Kerry regaled those assembled with a story about how he and the current U.S. ambassador to Italy decades ago bought a broken-down London taxi and drove through Europe with post-adolescent gusto.

"I think we left London one night at midnight and went to the ferry and went across to France and went down through France and Spain and then down into Italy and had a great adventure, running with the bulls in Pamplona and all those crazy things you do when you're 18 years old," he recalled.

A little more than a stone's throw from the Vatican on the day Pope Benedict XVI became the first pontiff to retire in 600 years, the practicing Roman Catholic was greeted with the headline "Kerry Arrives; Pope Goes."

In Paris, where his mother, Rosemary, of the wealthy Forbes clan, was born and later worked as a nurse's aide during World War II before fleeing the city on a bicycle as the Nazis marched into the city in June 1940, Kerry hinted at youthful fun in the City of Light.

"I spent, or misspent, a night or two of my youth here in this city," he said with a roguish grin. "I will not tell you about wandering around Paris all night long just to live it and feel it."

Now, decades later, a man whose entire life appears to have been prologue to being secretary of state is wrapping up a diplomatic dash that has taken him to nine countries in 10 days.

He has his diplomatic passport back and seems ready to use it.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-06-US-Kerry's-Debut/id-434117f2488b43239aa5046e8ffb2e83

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