Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/301798747?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Friday, April 26, 2013
TRAPPIST participated in the detection of ten percent of all transiting exoplanets known to date
Apr. 25, 2013 ? Among the many planets detected orbiting other stars (exoplanets) over the last twenty years, a little less than three hundred periodically pass in front of their star. This is what astronomers call a planetary transit. Exoplanets that "transit" their stars are key objects for the study of other planetary systems, because they are the only planets beyond our solar system that can be studied in detail, both in terms of their physical parameters (mass, radius, orbital parameters) and their atmospheric properties (thermal structure, dynamics, composition).
The University of Liege (ULg) is deeply involved in this exciting research topic, notably through its TRAPPIST[1] robotic telescope installed in 2010 in one of the best astronomical sites of the world, the La Silla European Southern Observatory in the Chilean Atacama desert. One of the scientific objectives of this telescope is the detection and study of exoplanets via the accurate measurement of their transits. In just three years, it has fully demonstrated its great potential in this area. Indeed, TRAPPIST participated in the detection of thirty planets, representing ten percent of all transiting exoplanets known to date. This important contribution is the result of the excellent expertise of the Liege astronomers, and their active collaboration with other international teams of "planet hunters," including the Swiss team of Professor Didier Queloz, co-discoverer of the first exoplanet in 1995.
Among the thirty exoplanets co-detected by TRAPPIST, most are gas giants similar to Jupiter, but in much closer orbits. "With the intense radiation that they undergo from their star, these planets are real gold mines for the study of other worlds," says Micha?l Gillon, Principal Investigator of the TRAPPIST exoplanets program. "Indeed, it makes possible a number of measurements that give us access to valuable information on their atmospheric properties. " TRAPPIST also detected the transit of a planet twice smaller than Jupiter orbiting a nearby star much less massive than the Sun. "The name of this small planet is GJ3470b" continues Micha?l Gillon, "and it has a mass and a size comparable to those of Uranus and Neptune, suggesting a composition rich in water ice. The detection of this planet much smaller than Jupiter is very exciting, not only for its own study, but also because it demonstrates that by focusing on even less massive stars, TRAPPIST should be able to detect rocky planets similar in size and mass to Earth. Our current projects go in that direction. "
Probably dreaming of other Earths too, TRAPPIST continues to observe the gorgeous Chilean sky night after night, to the delight of Liege astronomers that analyze its valuable data thirteen thousand kilometers away ...
[1] TRAPPIST stands for TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Li?ge.
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Journal Reference:
- M. Gillon, D. R. Anderson, A. Collier-Cameron, A. P. Doyle, A. Fumel, C. Hellier, E. Jehin, M. Lendl, P. F. L. Maxted, J. Montalban, F. Pepe, D. Pollacco, D. Queloz, D. Segransan, A. M. S. Smith, B. Smalley, J. Southworth, A. H. M. J. Triaud, S. Udry, R. G. West. WASP-64b and WASP-72b: two new transiting highly irradiated giant planets. Astronomy and Astrophysic, 2013 [link]
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/astronomy/~3/4DOSGoWcq2k/130425103237.htm
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The Daily Roundup for 04.25.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
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Thursday, April 25, 2013
ESPNcricinfo IPL Fantasy League guide: Delhi Daredevils vs. Kings ...
ESPNcricinfo IPL Fantasy League guide: Delhi Daredevils vs. Kings XI Punjab
The Indian Premiere League (IPL) action will continue tonight, April 23, 2013, with the Delhi Daredevils taking on the Kings XI Punjab in front of the Delhi crowd.
Both the teams have been inconsistent. While the men in blue have been struggling to find victories, Adam Gilchrist and his boys are having a tough time finding momentum. They have won a few games pretty convincingly, asserting themselves as a force to be reckoned with, but then gone on to taste bitter defeat in some games, which made it obvious that there is still plenty of work that needs to be done in the nets.
Delhi Daredevils are fortunate to have the presence of Viv Richards in their camp and this changed their fortunes drastically in the previous game, where the Delhi Daredevils openers, namely Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene, took apart the opposition.
The ESPNcricinfo IPL Fantasy League enthusiasts will be wondering about the best picks for today?s match and whether to bet their money on Delhi Daredevils or Kings XI Punjab.
Sehwag and Jayawardene have shown their ability to cause destruction in the previous game, which makes them deserving of a place in your fantasy league team. David Warner is another player from the Delhi Daredevils who is expected to give a smashing performance soon.
From the Kings XI Punjab side, David Miller is definitely the man you should opt to put in your team. He has already displayed his hard-hitting abilities and is expected to show no mercy to the Delhi Daredevils bowlers, who seem to be lacking sting, especially with the place of Morne Morkel doubtful in today?s game.
Azhar Mahmood of Kings XI Punjab is definitely a player worth having in your IPL Fantasy League team. He can and in fact does make significant contributions with the ball as well as the bat. Wait for the toss and team announcement before putting him in your team though, as news is that he will not be playing today?s match. If he does not play, then go with David Hussey. He may not be as reliable as his brother Mr. Cricket, i.e. Michael Hussey, but he sure can deliver on his day.
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Help 'Bobby Ewing' and homeless pets in West by adopting from ...
Bobby Ewing is looking for a forever home with a big yard (he promises not to drill for oil in it) (Operation Kindness)
Hundreds of pets have lost their homes as a result of the April 17 fertilizer plant explosion in West Texas. Operation Kindness in Carrollton, the largest no-kill shelter in North Texas, is working with the Humane Society of Central Texas?in Waco, to find them forever homes.
The best way to help is by fostering or adopting some of the beautiful dogs and cats at Operation Kindness like Bobby Ewing (a?lab/Great Pyrenees mix)?or Felicia (a domestic shorthair mix) which will open up space for the pets that are being moved from West to the Waco City Shelter and from the Waco City Shelter to Carrollton. Operation Kindness cares for an average of 300 animals at the shelter daily, with more than 100 in foster homes.
If you?re thinking of adopting, Operation Kindness is offering $25 off fees through April 30 for those who sign a pledge against cruelty to animals as our?Joy Tipping has reported; ?in addition to going to the shelter itself at 3201 Earhart Drive, Carrollton (972-418-PAWS), there?s also a Saturday adoption event from 11 am. to 3 p.m. at FETCH! at Ebby Halliday Realtors, 5999 Northwest Holiday at Preston Road, Dallas.
If your home is too full but there?s still room in your heart, money or gift cards are appreciate for Operation Kindness or to the Humane Society of Central Texas (call 254-754-1454 and?be careful to make sure your donations are going to the right place and not to fraudulent sites masquerading as charities).
Here are some of the beauties looking for their forever homes:
Oliver and Olivia
Oliver & Olivia (Olivia is in the pink collar) are from the Waco shelter. Olivia is 1 year old and weighs 5.7 lbs. Oliver is 2 years old and weighs 4.3 pounds. They are Chihuahua/Affenpinscher mix.
Bobby Ewing is a year-old lab/Great Pyrenees mix who was found as a stray in January. He is just over a year old and weighs 60 pounds. He is good with kids and has lots of energy. He would love a good home with a big yard. (He promises not to drill for oil in the yard, too).
Felicia
Felicia is a two-and-a-half year old domestic, shorthair mix with beautiful markings and hypnotic eyes who was abandoned at?Operation?Kindness?with a kitty friend. They were left outside the shelter in a box all night, so they were frightened and nervous when they arrived, but they?ve come a long way since then.??She is a quiet, sweet lap cat who would be ideal for single adults and couples without children.
Buck, Rosie, Benjamin, Sammy and UB
Buck, Rosie, Benjamin, Sammy and UB?are 2-month-old?Chihuahua mix puppies. They?just came back to the shelter from foster care and are ready for their forever homes.
Orco
Orco is a 10-month-old domestic, shorthair mix with a loving and affectionate disposition. ?Orco was found as a stray and taken in by a kind citizen. Arrangements were made and he was brought to?Operation?Kindness?for a fresh start. Orco is a fun, playful kitten who loves everyone: kids, adults, other cats ? he?s even good with dogs.
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Wednesday, April 24, 2013
We want your UFC 159 picks
After months and months of build-up, UFC 159 is (almost) here. The light heavyweight championship is on the line, along with other fights that have some animosity behind them. We want your picks, but we're doing things a little differently this time.
Go to Cagewriter's Facebook page and vote for who you think will win. Click on the fight for the poll that bout:
Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen
Alan Belcher vs. Michael Bisping
Cheick Kongo vs. Roy Nelson
Phil Davis vs. Vinny Magalhaes
Pat Healy vs. Jim Miller
If you want your picks to show up on Cagewriter next to picks from Kevin Iole and me, write in the comments why you think your choice will win. On Friday, we'll run picks and results of the poll.
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/want-ufc-159-picks-164853317--mma.html
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Monday, April 22, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Simple Guide Concerning How To Battle Asbestos Lung Cancer ...
Cancer is unquestionably a really big issue, with very ravaging effects on people and families. However, if you can to recognize symptoms, handle the strain and implications of your disease, and realize how to achieve a hold when told you have asbestos lung cancer, you can conquer the ailment significantly better. These guidelines can present you with a bit more information that could be employed for overcoming the battles that are associated with cancer.
Remain active, independent and positive during asbestos lung cancer treatments. Being active will enable you to maintain your overall health. Remaining independent will keep you from losing yourself to the illness. Staying positive can ensure you have the best results in your treatment.
Learn self testing strategies for detecting breast cancer. Cancers of the breast can be a leading reason for death in ladies of all ages, and will be identified early through regular breast exams that you can perform in the home. If you can to detect cancers of the breast early, you could potentially avoid it advancing in stage to a degree where your lifestyle is within danger.
A lot of people suffering with asbestos likewise have post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly known as PTSD. If you see you have any of the signs of PTSD, you should immediately get assistance from an experienced. Symptoms of PTSD include aversion to folks or places, flashbacks of events, irrational fears, and changes in your sleep patterns.
If you are living alone, try and maintain stocks of meals when you feel well. Cook up a sizable batch of chicken or soup and freeze it. Since there might be days when your cancer treatment leaves you feeling a bit weak, it will probably be very beneficial to be able to quickly heat up a meal and relax.
A great way of avoiding cancer is, Usually Do Not SMOKE! At least three in every ten cancer deaths is associated with smoking as cigarettes are filled with poisons and chemicals which you inhale with every drag. Quitting can be difficult yet your body will many thanks daily for accomplishing this.
There are online risk calculators that can be used to determine in case you are at risk of getting cancers of the breast. They contain questionnaires that will help women determine when they are in the heavy risk category for developing invasive cancers of the breast. These are not completely accurate but can present you with an understanding about be it something you ought to consult with your physician.
Lots of women will put off obtaining a mammogram as they are fearful of the results. It can be scary thinking that you may be clinically determined to have cancer however it is much more scary never to get the screening done. The quicker you catch it the more effective the likelihood of beating it!
Lung Cancer
Know the symptoms of cancer of the lung, and those that aren?t so easy to see. Lung cancer is certainly a fatal disease, mainly because that warning signs often mask themselves as other conditions until the disease has spread throughout the lungs and caused greater damage.
Some kinds of cancer might be prevented by actions that we take. Should you be a smoker, you will need to think of changing that. It is known that smoking can lead to cancer of the lung Read More Here.
Read more about asbestos lung cancer : http://asbestoslungcancerfacts.info/
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Saturday, April 20, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
Scots vote, replacement debate challenge British nuclear deterrent
By Peter Apps, Political Risk correspondent
FASLANE (Reuters) - Outside Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde, campaigners who have fought for decades for Britain to abandon nuclear weapons believe that they are closer than ever to victory.
In the 1980s, then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher brushed aside the protesters, saying that in the Cold War, atomic arms made the world a safer place.
Now, groups such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament believe their time has come. The referendum on Scottish independence and the looming retirement of the current Trident system herald change, they say.
The handful of activists who stay overnight in a camp of brightly-painted caravans and peace signs believe that Faslane's ballistic missile submarines will be the last of their kind.
"I think we do have a chance now," said activist Angus Chalmers. "Everything is coming together. It's possible to make the case we don't need these weapons in a way that just wasn't possible during the Cold War."
The Scottish Nationalist Party government that runs Scotland's devolved government say the nuclear weapons must go if they win the September 2014 referendum on independence.
Prime Minister David Cameron visited Faslane this month to argue a vote for independence could jeopardise British and Scottish security. The confrontation with North Korea showed that deterrent was as vital as ever, he said.
But that will not be the end of the battle. The British government has already extended the life of the current four Trident submarines towards 2030 and is spending 1.5 billion pounds already on preliminary design work for their successors.
A final decision will be made after the 2015 election, with the Defence Ministry estimating the cost of replacement at around 20 billion-25 billion pounds.
Opponents say money could be better spent elsewhere - it is enough to hire 120,000 new nurses a year for a decade.
Public opinion may be shifting. A 2009 Guardian/ICM poll showed for the first time most of those surveyed favouring outright nuclear disarmament over replacement.
"If the next British government decides that Britain is to remain a nuclear weapons state, it must be prepared to face - and defeat - the most articulate and agile single issue opposition it has ever faced," ballistic missile submarine captain Cmdr Andy Corbett told a panel at London's Royal United Services Institute last year. "It needs to be preparing now."
The United States, current and former officials said, is extremely keen Britain remains a nuclear power.
They have the closest co-operation of any two nuclear-armed states, with considerable shared planning and research and with London effectively leasing the U.S.-built Trident missiles.
DEPENDING ON SCOTLAND
Those in the immediate area are worried. Thousands were thrown out of work when the U.S. Navy abandoned its Scottish ballistic missile submarine base at nearby Holy Loch.
The Defence Ministry says it is not carrying out any contingency planning for Scottish independence as ministers believe the union will continue.
Ironically, it was the unpopularity of Thatcher's government in Scotland - as well as Tony Blair's Labour administration - that opened the door to the SNP and next year's referendum.
For now, opinion polls suggest the pro-independence camp will lose - although with up to a fifth of the electorate undecided, those on both sides say things could change.
What is clear is that in its current form - four submarines, one always at sea carrying eight missiles and 40 warheads - the British deterrent relies almost completely on its Scottish base.
While the warheads themselves are assembled in England at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermasten, Faslane is the only facility capable of handling the nuclear-armed submarines.
The two most promising alternate locations, experts say, would be Milford Haven in Wales or the existing naval dockyard at Devonport, Plymouth. But both come with problems.
If Scotland were to vote to leave the United Kingdom, moving the deterrent to Wales, which also has a vocal nationalist movement, might seem risky.
Devonport, meanwhile, stands at the centre of a densely populated area that would make any nuclear accident potentially harmful to many more people.
"Everyone in London is just hoping the referendum doesn't see a victory for the "yes" vote," says Mark Fitzpatrick, a former senior U.S. official specialising in nuclear issues and now a senior analyst at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies.
"It would be hugely difficult for what was left of the rump United Kingdom if Scotland left."
Anxious to rebuff talk of many job losses, the SNP says Faslane would remain a military centre of an independent Scotland, home to a navy of patrol boats and a handful of larger craft.
Cutting a deal on the nuclear deterrent would almost certainly be a part of negotiations between London and Edinburgh on dividing military resources. Some suggest Faslane could remain a "sovereign base" still under London's control.
"The issue of Trident is a totemic one in Scottish politics," said Angus Robertson, SNP leader in the Westminster parliament and its spokesman on defence issues. "We would want it gone."
The Defence Ministry says that if Britain is to retain a permanent nuclear deterrent, Trident replacement offers by far the best value for money.
Other potential solutions - fewer submarines, using low flying cruise instead of ballistic missiles - would be much less resilient and could be destroyed much more easily.
The ruling Conservative party says it is committed to replacing Trident with a similar submarine-based ballistic missile system. Junior coalition partners the Lib Dems, however, have long been opposed and are conducting their own study into potential alternatives.
The opposition Labour Party, which most opinion polls suggest will win or at least emerge as the largest single party after the next election, remains divided. The party's support for unilateral disarmament at the height of the Cold War is seen contributing hugely to its electoral defeats and it is seen likely to back a submarine missile system.
"Prime ministers do not want to take the decision to be the person to give up our deterrent," said Sir Richard Mottram, former permanent secretary in the British civil service.
"They worry that in 2050, something horrible will have happened and they will be the person who goes down in history as responsible."
(Reporting By Peter Apps; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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Highlights - Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The following are comments from Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, speaking on the global economy and financial reform at a Thomson Reuters Newsmaker event on Thursday in Washington. Carney is scheduled to become governor of the Bank of England on July 1.
Carney is in Washington this week for Group of 20 meetings and the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Banking.
ON THE FED'S GUIDANCE:
"It helps market participants understand not exactly the timing of adjustment of interest rates but the minimum conditions before the Fed even thinks about adjustment of interest rates."
ON EXIT FROM UNCONVENTIONAL MONETARY POLICY:
"The tools are there. It hasn't been done before so I think there's a need for humility around it and an appropriate caution there.
"It can also, as appropriate, influence the continued path of unconventional policy. If there is a prospect of an exit, if the timing of the exit becomes more clear, it obviously influences the path, magnitude and composition of unconventional policy. At least those are considerations that need to be taken into account by relevant central banks."
CANADIAN HOUSING MARKET:
"We see valuations in the housing market as being quite firm and very firm in some markets. We are seeing an adjustment in those prices and we are now seeing household debt levels stabilize, albeit at high levels. But things are moving in the right direction, including on the new build side, on the housing starts side."
GROWTH IN HOUSING DEBT IN CANADA:
"We have conducted monetary policy in, we think, a pretty transparent way that has highlighted the risks to this, and the potential consequences for the path of interest rates. In other words, they could be higher sooner if this isn't addressed or this isn't adjusted in a more timely way."
U.S. ECONOMY:
"The important development, in our opinion from the course of last 12 months or so, is that the quality of private-sector growth in the United States has picked up ...
"The U.S. is moving towards that class of advanced economies that has well-functioning financial systems, private credit is growing now and where there is reasonably solvent investment growth."
CREDIT GROWTH:
"We do think the U.S. economy, the underlying private side, has sustainable momentum. There's talk about the fiscal noise but there is sustainable momentum. That has an implication for Canadian exports."
"Solid growth there, the fact that there is a lot of cash ... on Canadian balance sheets, the financial system is wide open and there is real opportunity to enhance productivity building in markets etc, all of that we think is going to kick in to having some of that money put to work."
ON REINHART, ROGOFF RESEARCH:
"I haven't audited the now famous spreadsheet but others have, apparently. I think what's important is to recognize that the depths of the insights by Reinhart and Rogoff's work, which capture a number of dynamics that have come to pass for countries coming out of major crisis. In our analysis and forecasting in what would happen in the U.S., what would happen to the euro zone and other places, we did rely and use their work as a sanity check on our forecast. The element that wasn't relevant, at least in our view, was exactly the issue that people are focused on, which is this 90 percent to GDP component; it's more the time it takes to repair private balance sheets."
HOW MUCH DEBT IS TOO MUCH:
"Obviously there's a limit, I won't get pinned down on the exact limit."
"One of the things that we are due to be discussing ... at the G20 this weekend is what are the long-term fiscal anchors."
"I would say that from a Canadian perspective, given our overall fiscal situation, we feel pretty comfortable that we are on the right path to a sustainable situation."
WAS CYPRUS A GOOD PRECEDENT?
"Bail-in broadly speaking, not bail-in as it was performed a couple of weeks ago in Cyprus, but bail-in as a component of addressing systemic risk ... is an absolutely necessary element, it doesn't solve everything but it's absolutely necessary."
FISCAL AUSTERITY:
"If we want to talk about ultimate sources of growth, sustainable fiscal policy is a necessary condition ... Sustainable growth comes from the private sector, not from the IMF, Bank of Canada or anyone else."
"Central bankers take fiscal policy as given. Treasuries take monetary policy as given. That's the separation and I'm not going to wade in positively, negatively, neutrally."
(Reporting by Reuters' IMF and World Bank reporting team)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/highlights-bank-canada-governor-mark-carney-171229513--business.html
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Even in desert retreat, monks feel Egypt's turmoil
In this Tuesday, April 16, 2013 photo, a monk walks on the grounds of the ancient monastery of St. Anthony, southeast of Cairo, Egypt. Tucked away in the vast and barren eastern Egyptian desert, the gentle manners and soft voices of the monks are a perfect fit for the peace and tranquility of St. Anthony, nestling at the foot of an imposing rock mountain deep in the desert. A spring had until several years ago been the sole source of water for the monks, their date palms and olive trees. (AP Photo/Manoocher Deghati)
In this Tuesday, April 16, 2013 photo, a monk walks on the grounds of the ancient monastery of St. Anthony, southeast of Cairo, Egypt. Tucked away in the vast and barren eastern Egyptian desert, the gentle manners and soft voices of the monks are a perfect fit for the peace and tranquility of St. Anthony, nestling at the foot of an imposing rock mountain deep in the desert. A spring had until several years ago been the sole source of water for the monks, their date palms and olive trees. (AP Photo/Manoocher Deghati)
In this Tuesday, April 16, 2013 photo, a monk smiles at a photographer inside a chapel dating back to the fourth century at the ancient monastery of St. Anthony in the eastern desert southeast of Cairo, Egypt. In a cave high in the desert mountains of eastern Egypt, the man said to be the father of monasticism took refuge from the temptations of the world some 17 centuries ago. The monks at the St. Anthony?s Monastery bearing his name continue the ascetic tradition. But even they are not untouched by the turbulent times facing Egypt?s Christians, defiantly vowing their community?s voice won?t be silenced amid Islamists? rising power. (AP Photo/Manoocher Deghati)
In this Tuesday, April 16, 2013 photo, a monk prays inside a chapel dating back to the fourth century at the ancient monastery of St. Anthony southeast of Cairo, Egypt. In a cave high in the desert mountains of eastern Egypt, the man said to be the father of monasticism took refuge from the temptations of the world some 17 centuries ago. The monks at the St. Anthony?s Monastery bearing his name continue the ascetic tradition. But even they are not untouched by the turbulent times facing Egypt?s Christians, defiantly vowing their community?s voice won?t be silenced amid Islamists? rising power. (AP Photo/Manoocher Deghati)
In this Tuesday, April 16, 2013 photo, a detail of frescos dating back to the thirteenth century at the ancient monastery of St. Anthony southeast of Cairo, Egypt. In a cave high in the desert mountains of eastern Egypt, the man said to be the father of monasticism took refuge from the temptations of the world some 17 centuries ago. The monks at the St. Anthony?s Monastery bearing his name continue the ascetic tradition. But even they are not untouched by the turbulent times facing Egypt?s Christians, defiantly vowing their community?s voice won?t be silenced amid Islamists? rising power. (AP Photo/Manoocher Deghati)
In this Tuesday, April 16, 2013 photo, a detail of layers of frescos dating back to the thirteenth century, and before, at the ancient monastery of St. Anthony southeast of Cairo, Egypt. In a cave high in the desert mountains of eastern Egypt, the man said to be the father of monasticism took refuge from the temptations of the world some 17 centuries ago. The monks at the St. Anthony?s Monastery bearing his name continue the ascetic tradition. But even they are not untouched by the turbulent times facing Egypt?s Christians, defiantly vowing their community?s voice won?t be silenced amid Islamists? rising power. (AP Photo/Manoocher Deghati)
ST. ANTHONY'S MONASTERY, Egypt (AP) ? In a cave here high in the desert mountains of eastern Egypt, the man said to be the father of monasticism took refuge from the temptations of the world some 17 centuries ago. At the foot of the mountain, the monks at the St. Anthony's Monastery bearing his name continue the ascetic tradition.
But even this remote spot is touched by the turbulent times facing Egypt's Christians, who fear for their future under the rising power of Islamists. Monks normally immersed in spirituality are joining the increasingly assertive tone of many in the minority community, vowing Christian voices won't be silenced.
Their tone reflects the growing activist political role of the Coptic Orthodox Church, which for decades had adopted a quietist policy, avoided rocking the boat and relied on backroom dealings with the country's leadership to try to preserve the community's rights. In doing so, the church is essentially following the lead of many young Christians who ? caught up in the fervor of Egypt's revolution ? insist they must stand up for themselves rather than trusting politicians to protect them.
"Anyone who thinks of hurting our church will face divine retribution," Father Yacoub, the monastery's deputy head, told The Associated Press this week. "Our church grows stronger with martyrdom. My faith and confidence tell me that so long as our church is in the hands of God, no one can hurt it."
Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood, has vowed to promote equality between Egypt's Muslim majority and Christian minority. But Christians have been worried by the growing influence in society and government of Muslim conservatives and hard-liners, many of whom espouse rhetoric consigning Christians to second-class status.
A mob attack this month on the Cairo cathedral that serves as the seat of the Coptic pope raised alarm bells among Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the country's 90 million people. There has been a surge in attacks on Christians and churches in the two years since the ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. But for Christians, the cathedral violence laid bare their vulnerability. Morsi quickly condemned the violence, saying attacking the cathedral was like attacking him personally. But the Coptic Pope Tawadros II accused him of failing to protect the cathedral in an unprecedented direct criticism.
One of the world's oldest monasteries, St. Anthony's would seem a world away from such concerns, with its atmosphere of isolation.
Nestled at the foot of an imposing rock mountain in the desert near the Red Sea 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Cairo, its fortress-like walls enclose churches, chapels and chambers for its around 100 monks. The oldest section ? a small chapel ? is believed to date to the 4th Century. Until several years ago, a spring was the sole source of water for the monks and their date palms and olive trees.
Little disturbs the routine of spiritual contemplation. Before dawn earlier this week, the monastery was still engulfed in darkness, only a sliver of moon in the sky, when the black-clad monks emerged from their cells. They walked up a cobblestone alley to the 15th Century Church of the Apostles to start their day with two hours of hymns and prayers.
With Orthodox Christians deep into Lent ? their Easter Sunday is May 5 ? that pre-dawn prayer is followed by three more liturgies, two hours each, the last ending at 5 p.m.
But the monks are definitely in touch. Yacoub sports both a Blackberry and an IPhone. He frequently drops mentions of what he reads on social networking sites. He is also willing to cast off some of the caution and diplomacy that the church has been renowned for in dealing with politics.
"If there is someone out there who thinks that persecuting the church or attacking the cathedral will drive us out of Egypt, then they are making a big mistake," said Yacoub, a 51-year-old trained engineer. "They are pestering us so as to drown the Coptic voice that rose during the revolution."
"No one can cover up facts or silence Egyptians any more. That party is over."
For monks to talk like this is a dramatic sign of the sentiment among Christians here. Egypt's estimated 1,200 monks constitute the heart and soul of the Coptic Orthodox Church, one of the world's oldest denominations. Monasticism is believed to have started in Egypt. St. Anthony, born in the mid-3rd Century, is believed to be one of the first, shedding his possessions to live in the desert. His followers gathered to first build the monastery here below his hermit's cave.
Over the centuries, monks offered spiritual guidance to Christians and have been seen as protectors during bouts of persecution through history, starting with the Romans. Egypt's monasteries saw a revival in the 1970s, and since then many have been renovated. Today, tens of thousands of Christians flock to festivals on saint's days at major monasteries like St. Anthony's and Deir el-Muharraq, near the Nile River in southern Egypt. They also often come individually for visits to pray and meditate through the night.
"The monks are the church's first line of defense because our role is to constantly pray to protect the church and comfort the flock," said 65-year-old Father Bakhomious, a monk at St. Anthony's.
He said the attack on the cathedral in Cairo was "painful ? a defining moment in the history of Egypt and the church."
"Revolutions have their cons and pros and we as Christians must endure and pray for stability and peace."
Another monk, Father Hedra, says the church can feel the worries among the flock. In a sign of Egypt's overall economic woes, donations of food by the faithful to St. Anthony's to distribute to the poor have gotten smaller, he said.
"People are weighed down by their troubles and they come to us to rest and breathe fresh clean air," he said. "I can also sense the burden on everyone from the attacks on the church. When we have a crisis like that last one, the whole church is praying."
Christians felt empowered by their participation in unusually large numbers in the 18-day revolution that toppled Mubarak's authoritarian regime. Like Muslims, they rose up to create a democratic state that safeguards the dignity and rights of all Egyptians.
The April 7 violence at the cathedral showed Christians' anger and readiness to push back.
The violence followed a funeral service at the cathedral for four Christians killed a day earlier in sectarian violence in a town north of Cairo. During the service, aired live on several TV networks, mourners broke into chants against Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood ? an unheard-of show of politics inside a church. "Hold your head high, you are a Copt" and "We will never leave our country," were among the chants.
When several hundred mourners attempted to march outside the cathedral to protest the killings, a Muslim mob set upon them, pelting them with rocks and firebombs, leading to a battle between crowds inside the cathedral and outside.
Morsi ordered a full investigation, reassuring Christians about their safety. However, a senior presidential aide in charge of foreign relations later issued a statement in English saying the violence erupted when Christian protesters vandalized cars ? a comment Christians saw as blaming them. Islamist hard-liners delivered sharp public warnings to the church against involving itself in politics.
Tawadros, the pope, was dismissive of Morsi's promises, including his reviving of a commission on equality. "We want action not words and, let me say this, there are many names and committees but there is no action on the ground," he said.
Still, alongside their more assertive tone, the monks preserve their tradition of finding solace in prayer ? along with the long-term perspective engrained over the centuries.
"As monks, we will pray until God lifts his anger and help us cope with what we are facing," said a monk at Deir el-Muharraq in southern Egypt, also named Father Bakhomious. "Egypt has seen a lot over the ages and what is happening now is a chaotic phase that will eventually end," he added.
Associated PressWednesday, April 17, 2013
Boston Marathon: Defending champ now holds seat in Kenya's parliament
Wesley Korir returns to defend his title in today's running of the 117th Boston Marathon, weeks after winning an election back in Kenya. ?
Runners start the 115th running of the Boston Marathon, in Hopkinton, Mass., April 2011. Last year's winner Wesley Korir returns to defend his title in today's running of the 117th.
Stew Milne/AP
EnlargeThe defending champion in today's Boston Marathon has an extra spring in his step this year after his recent election to Kenya's parliament, a symbol of just how much respect the East African nation holds for its international marathoners.?
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Last year, Wesley Korir stormed through the Boston Marathon course to win the race, adding his name to the list of Kenya?s celebrated long-distance runners. In 2010 and 2009, he won the Los Angeles Marathon, and in 2010, he was second in the Chicago Marathon.
Today in Boston, when the starting gun sounds at 10:00 am for the elite male runners, Mr. Korir will become the first-ever sitting Kenyan legislator to compete in an international marathon. He shows no signs of resting on his laurels, vowing to keep running in races ? athletic and political.?
?I am a different guy. I am two in one. Politics or leadership is my calling and athletics is my talent. I am trying to use both to serve the people of Kenya. I want to use leadership or politics ? and athletics ? to help the people of Cherangany,? Korir, referring to his constituency, told Kenya?s Citizen TV.
Cherangany?is an area in the Rift Valley region, the?hub of Kenya?s long-distance running, where as a boy he ran five miles to school and back each day.
For Korir, joining politics had come as an afterthought. He said he could not stomach the suffering of the people which he believed resulted from poor leadership. He had attempted to make the leaders address the problems with little success. This prompted him to join the race for parliament.
Amid training for the Boston Marathon, Korir campaigned among the people, highlighting their problems and suggesting solutions. He had told the people with good leadership, their problems, such as poverty, could be ended.?
?I was born in poor family, I struggled with school fees. My brother died of snake bite because of lack of emergency medical services,? he said to Citizen's TV.
Analysts say the fame and celebrity status that Kenyan international runners are accorded back home helped Korir?s election last month.
?After winning Boston and Los Angeles marathons, he became visible. Athletes in Kenya are big heroes and I think the people were rewarding him for his performance. He also promised to help the youth,? says Ben Ocheing, Kenya?s Sports Monthly magazine editor.?
?Everyone gets to know the?athletes. So, for Korir, 50 percent of the work was already done,? says Col. Benjamin Muema, the party secretary of the New Ford Kenya party.
For Douglas Wakiihuri, a retired marathoner, Korir has done more for the community than putting them on international map as an athlete.?Korir founded, along with his Canadian wife, a children's charity called the Kenyan Kids Foundation to improve education and healthcare in his region.?
?I think [there] is another bigger contribution" to his political success than the marathon, says?Mr. Wakiihuri, "but?I am happy the young runner is using athletics to become a leader."
In Cherangany, people are upbeat about Korir?s participation. On Twitter and Facebook, some are posting prayers and words of encouragement.
?We need gold for our 11th parliament,? posted John Lopem on Facebook. Another poster, Irene Mungai, wrote: ?Our prayers are with you. Do Kenya proud Mheshimiwa (MP)."
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Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Mammogram tool improves some breast cancer detection but also increases false alarms
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Public release date: 15-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Karen Finney
karen.finney@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
916-734-9064
University of California - Davis Health System
Outcome calls into question the costs of CAD-enhanced mammography
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- A costly and widely used mammography add-on increases detection of noninvasive and early-stage invasive breast cancer but also makes more mistakes than mammography alone, researchers from UC Davis and the University of Washington have found.
Published in the April 16 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, the study of women enrolled in Medicare is the largest comparison of clinical outcomes of routine screening mammography with and without computer-assisted detection (CAD) -- software developed to enhance the detection of breast cancer during screening mammography.
CAD was most strongly associated in the study with higher incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a non-invasive breast lesion typically referred to as "stage 0" because it does not affect surrounding tissue or mortality.
"DCIS progresses slowly, if at all," said lead author Joshua Fenton, an associate professor of family and community medicine at UC Davis and a national leader in research to improve the quality of health-care services. "Some of these early noninvasive lesions may never have come to clinical attention in women's lifetimes if CAD were not applied to their mammograms."
CAD also was associated with slightly higher rates of early-stage invasive breast cancer detection.
"There may be benefits if CAD detects early-stage invasive cancer before it progresses," said Fenton. "A longer-term study would be needed to see whether fewer women die of breast cancer on account of the technology."
The study also showed that CAD mammography was associated with increased diagnostic testing, including breast biopsy, among women who did not have breast cancer.
"This means that CAD increases the chances of being unnecessarily called back for further imaging or tests because of a false alarm, which is already a major problem without CAD," said study co-author Joann Elmore, a professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at the University of Washington and specialist in breast cancer screening. "No woman likes receiving a notice saying that there was an abnormality on her mammogram that might or might not be cancer and more testing is necessary. This can understandably be a very stressful experience for women."
CAD algorithms are designed to assist radiologists by marking areas on mammograms that could be associated with breast cancer. Application of CAD has increased rapidly since being approved for Medicare reimbursement in 2001, and it is now used on approximately three out of every four screening mammograms in the U.S. Despite this broad acceptance, some health-care providers have questioned if the benefits of CAD outweigh its annual direct costs to Medicare, which are estimated by Fenton based on CAD prevalence and Medicare reimbursement and enrollment data to exceed $100 million each year.
For the study, Fenton, Elmore and their colleagues analyzed Medicare claims data that were linked with a National Cancer Institute database of cancer diagnoses, treatments and survival. More than 163,000 women nationwide who were 67 to 89 years old when they underwent mammography with or without CAD during 2001 to 2006 were included in the study. The participants received more than 409,000 mammograms -- an average of 2.4 mammograms per person -- during the six-year period.
"The large sample size gave us the opportunity to provide precise estimates of CAD's clinical impact at the national level," said Fenton.
Compared to women screened without CAD, women screened with CAD had a 17 percent increase in diagnoses of noninvasive DCIS breast lesions and a 6 percent increase in diagnoses of early-stage invasive breast cancer. Among women who did not have breast cancer after all, there was a 19 percent increase in additional diagnostic imaging after screening and a 10 percent increase in breast biopsies.
Fenton and Elmore expect their research will inspire debate about the value of Medicare's investment in CAD. They hope their findings also emphasize the need for research to distinguish early-stage breast cancers that are likely to progress from those that are likely to follow a benign course.
"CAD is expensive technology that has been nearly universally adopted in the U.S. due to Medicare's support and the hope that it can help us identify and treat invasive breast cancer early," said Fenton. "Our study suggests that we still don't know whether the benefits outweigh the harms for the average woman on Medicare."
###
UC Davis Health System co-authors on the study were Guibo Xing, Heejung Bang and Karen Lindfors; co-author Steven Chen is with the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, Calif.; and senior author Laura-Mae Baldwin is with the University of Washington in Seattle.
A copy of "Computer-Aided Detection and Short-Term Screening Mammography Outcomes: A Population-Based Study of Medicare Enrollees" can be requested via e-mail to acollom@acponline.org.
The study was funded by the Clinical and Translational Science Center, Center for Healthcare Policy and Research and Department of Family and Community Medicine at UC Davis, and by a National Cancer Institute grant (K05 CA-104699).
UC Davis Health System is improving lives and transforming health care by providing excellent patient care, conducting groundbreaking research, fostering innovative, interprofessional education and creating dynamic, productive partnerships with the community. The academic health system includes one of the country's best medical schools, a 619-bed acute-care teaching hospital, a 1,000-member physician's practice group and the new Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. It is home to a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, an international neurodevelopmental institute, a stem cell institute and a comprehensive children's hospital. Other nationally prominent centers focus on advancing telemedicine, improving vascular care, eliminating health disparities and translating research findings into new treatments for patients. Together, they make UC Davis a hub of innovation that is transforming health for all. For more information, visit healthsystem.ucdavis.edu/
UW Medicine includes Harborview Medical Center, Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, Valley Medical Center, UW Medical Center, UW Neighborhood Clinics, UW Physicians, UW School of Medicine and Airlift Northwest. UW Medicine has major academic and service affiliations with Seattle Children's Hospital, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Veteran's Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle and the VA Hospital in Boise, Idaho. The UW School of Medicine is the top public institution for receipt of biomedical research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and second among all institutions for NIH funding, public and private. UW Medicine's 2,000 full-time faculty and nearly 5,000 clinical faculty across its five-state region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) include three living Nobel Prize winners (five in its history), 32 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 35 members of the Institute of Medicine and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. For more information, visit http://www.uwmedicine.org/
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 15-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Karen Finney
karen.finney@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
916-734-9064
University of California - Davis Health System
Outcome calls into question the costs of CAD-enhanced mammography
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- A costly and widely used mammography add-on increases detection of noninvasive and early-stage invasive breast cancer but also makes more mistakes than mammography alone, researchers from UC Davis and the University of Washington have found.
Published in the April 16 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, the study of women enrolled in Medicare is the largest comparison of clinical outcomes of routine screening mammography with and without computer-assisted detection (CAD) -- software developed to enhance the detection of breast cancer during screening mammography.
CAD was most strongly associated in the study with higher incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a non-invasive breast lesion typically referred to as "stage 0" because it does not affect surrounding tissue or mortality.
"DCIS progresses slowly, if at all," said lead author Joshua Fenton, an associate professor of family and community medicine at UC Davis and a national leader in research to improve the quality of health-care services. "Some of these early noninvasive lesions may never have come to clinical attention in women's lifetimes if CAD were not applied to their mammograms."
CAD also was associated with slightly higher rates of early-stage invasive breast cancer detection.
"There may be benefits if CAD detects early-stage invasive cancer before it progresses," said Fenton. "A longer-term study would be needed to see whether fewer women die of breast cancer on account of the technology."
The study also showed that CAD mammography was associated with increased diagnostic testing, including breast biopsy, among women who did not have breast cancer.
"This means that CAD increases the chances of being unnecessarily called back for further imaging or tests because of a false alarm, which is already a major problem without CAD," said study co-author Joann Elmore, a professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at the University of Washington and specialist in breast cancer screening. "No woman likes receiving a notice saying that there was an abnormality on her mammogram that might or might not be cancer and more testing is necessary. This can understandably be a very stressful experience for women."
CAD algorithms are designed to assist radiologists by marking areas on mammograms that could be associated with breast cancer. Application of CAD has increased rapidly since being approved for Medicare reimbursement in 2001, and it is now used on approximately three out of every four screening mammograms in the U.S. Despite this broad acceptance, some health-care providers have questioned if the benefits of CAD outweigh its annual direct costs to Medicare, which are estimated by Fenton based on CAD prevalence and Medicare reimbursement and enrollment data to exceed $100 million each year.
For the study, Fenton, Elmore and their colleagues analyzed Medicare claims data that were linked with a National Cancer Institute database of cancer diagnoses, treatments and survival. More than 163,000 women nationwide who were 67 to 89 years old when they underwent mammography with or without CAD during 2001 to 2006 were included in the study. The participants received more than 409,000 mammograms -- an average of 2.4 mammograms per person -- during the six-year period.
"The large sample size gave us the opportunity to provide precise estimates of CAD's clinical impact at the national level," said Fenton.
Compared to women screened without CAD, women screened with CAD had a 17 percent increase in diagnoses of noninvasive DCIS breast lesions and a 6 percent increase in diagnoses of early-stage invasive breast cancer. Among women who did not have breast cancer after all, there was a 19 percent increase in additional diagnostic imaging after screening and a 10 percent increase in breast biopsies.
Fenton and Elmore expect their research will inspire debate about the value of Medicare's investment in CAD. They hope their findings also emphasize the need for research to distinguish early-stage breast cancers that are likely to progress from those that are likely to follow a benign course.
"CAD is expensive technology that has been nearly universally adopted in the U.S. due to Medicare's support and the hope that it can help us identify and treat invasive breast cancer early," said Fenton. "Our study suggests that we still don't know whether the benefits outweigh the harms for the average woman on Medicare."
###
UC Davis Health System co-authors on the study were Guibo Xing, Heejung Bang and Karen Lindfors; co-author Steven Chen is with the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, Calif.; and senior author Laura-Mae Baldwin is with the University of Washington in Seattle.
A copy of "Computer-Aided Detection and Short-Term Screening Mammography Outcomes: A Population-Based Study of Medicare Enrollees" can be requested via e-mail to acollom@acponline.org.
The study was funded by the Clinical and Translational Science Center, Center for Healthcare Policy and Research and Department of Family and Community Medicine at UC Davis, and by a National Cancer Institute grant (K05 CA-104699).
UC Davis Health System is improving lives and transforming health care by providing excellent patient care, conducting groundbreaking research, fostering innovative, interprofessional education and creating dynamic, productive partnerships with the community. The academic health system includes one of the country's best medical schools, a 619-bed acute-care teaching hospital, a 1,000-member physician's practice group and the new Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. It is home to a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, an international neurodevelopmental institute, a stem cell institute and a comprehensive children's hospital. Other nationally prominent centers focus on advancing telemedicine, improving vascular care, eliminating health disparities and translating research findings into new treatments for patients. Together, they make UC Davis a hub of innovation that is transforming health for all. For more information, visit healthsystem.ucdavis.edu/
UW Medicine includes Harborview Medical Center, Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, Valley Medical Center, UW Medical Center, UW Neighborhood Clinics, UW Physicians, UW School of Medicine and Airlift Northwest. UW Medicine has major academic and service affiliations with Seattle Children's Hospital, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Veteran's Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle and the VA Hospital in Boise, Idaho. The UW School of Medicine is the top public institution for receipt of biomedical research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and second among all institutions for NIH funding, public and private. UW Medicine's 2,000 full-time faculty and nearly 5,000 clinical faculty across its five-state region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) include three living Nobel Prize winners (five in its history), 32 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 35 members of the Institute of Medicine and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. For more information, visit http://www.uwmedicine.org/
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/uoc--mti041513.php
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Monday, April 15, 2013
Philadelphia medical examiner not sure babies born alive at clinic
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? Philadelphia's chief medical examiner told jurors Monday he could not be sure if any babies were born alive at a now-shuttered abortion clinic run by a doctor accused of murder.
Dr. Sam Gulino examined 47 fetuses recovered from a clinic run by Dr. Kermit Gosnell after a 2010 FBI raid. Gosnell is charged with killing a patient and seven babies allegedly born alive.
However, Gulino said many of the bodies had been stored in a freezer, complicating his examinations because some fetal tissue degraded as it thawed.
Prosecutors maintain that Gosnell or his untrained staff killed at least seven babies after they had been born alive. Gosnell's defense lawyer has denied the charge, attributing any movement seen by staff to involuntary responses.
Earlier in the day, another city abortion provider testified, and drew stark comparisons between his work and Gosnell's.
Gosnell, 72, is also accused of performing illegal, late-term abortions and running a dangerously outdated clinic staffed by untrained workers.
Dr. Charles Benjamin said he performs abortions after 17 weeks gestation in a hospital ? unlike Gosnell, who performed about 1,000 abortions a year at his clinics in West Philadelphia and Delaware.
Benjamin, by his own count, has performed 40,000 abortions over a 30-year career and testified as a prosecution expert. He is one of about four abortion providers left in Philadelphia in the wake of Dr. Kermit Gosnell's arrest two years ago. Benjamin said he doesn't do abortions after 21 weeks gestation, or three weeks shy of the 24-week limit in Pennsylvania.
He said that he has registered nurses on staff to monitor patients, and that only he or a nurse anesthetist give anesthesia, unlike Gosnell's clinic, where workers hired to clean instruments have testified that Gosnell trained them to administer potent intravenous drugs.
On cross-examination, Benjamin acknowledged that his practice once had an abortion patient die of sepsis, although he said the woman was his partner's patient.
He also conceded that first-trimester patients have the choice to be lightly sedated or only given local anesthesia. Defense lawyer Jack McMahon was trying to counter attacks by prosecutors that Gosnell let patients pick their anesthesia based on how much they could pay.
The trial is now in its fifth week, and could last another month.
An influx of reporters attended the trial Monday, spurred by criticism that some broadcasters were not covering the trial. A gag order prevents lawyers from speaking outside and no cameras are allowed inside the courtroom. Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Minehart reminded jurors not to read or view anything about the case.
A White House spokesman said Monday that President Barack Obama is aware of the trial, and the spokesman called the case "unsettling."
White House spokesman Jay Carney said that Obama, as president, "does not and cannot take a position on an ongoing trial." But Carney added that "the things you hear and read about this case are unsettling."
Gulino described his bafflement when police in 2010 turned over bags seized at Gosnell's clinic with the 47 sets of fetal remains, along with medical waste and other debris.
"It was really an unprecedented situation," said Gulino, who talked to colleagues and searched medical literature. "There was no guidance for how to proceed."
Former workers have testified that Gosnell had the aborted fetuses in the freezer because of a billing dispute with his medical waste disposal company, which had stopped coming.
Gulino classified the remains by gestational age, concluding that 17 were aborted in the first trimester and more than two dozen in the second trimester. He believed that two were third-trimester babies of about 26 and 28 weeks gestation. However, he agreed with McMahon that estimates of gestational age are imprecise.
The trial resumes Tuesday.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/philly-not-sure-babies-born-alive-clinic-212518434.html
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