David Prosser Red Knights were once seen as devils

Outlook There is positively copiousness to be vexed about the approach the Glazer family paid for Manchester United and installed it up with debt, but one cannot assistance a devious grin at the identities of a little of the Red Knights right away roving over the mountainous country to the rescue of the bar on interest of "true" football fans. If the likes of Jim O"Neill and Paul Marshall right away paint the excusable face of capitalism, it tells you something about the reproof indifferent for the Glazers.

Mr Marshall is one half of the partnership that founded Marshall Wace, the sidestep account business. You might have seen his name referred to in despatches a integrate of times over the past integrate of years: initial when his sidestep account strike the headlines offered short the shares of Halifax Bank of Scotland and Northern Rock (remember what happened to them?), and subsequent when he appeared in front of MPs fortifying the sidestep account industry and battling a anathema on short selling.

Mr O"Neill, meanwhile, is arch strategist at Goldman Sachs. You"ll really have come opposite the name. Think large bonuses for staff usually a year after the tellurian promissory note bailout, think recommendation to Greece on how to by-pass EU borrowing rules, think investment bank famously dubbed as a "great evil spirit squid wrapped around the face of humanity".

None of this is to contend the Red Knights would be unsuited bidders for Manchester United, or even to accept that critique of their day-to-day commercial operation activities is indispensably satisfactory only to comply that peoples memories are short and that when it comes to football, all receptive thought disappears out of the window really quickly. For, similar to the Glazers themselves, a little of these knights are all as well informed with the feeling of being open rivalry No 1.

Frequency and cost of duplicating college task revealed

According to investigate published online Mar eighteen in Physical Review Special Topics: Physics Education Research, it turns out that neglected tyro intrigue is a poignant means of march disaster nationally.

A researcher from the University of Kansas has teamed up with colleagues from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to get a improved hoop on duplicating in college in the 21st century.

Young-Jin Lee, partner highbrow of tutorial record at KU, and the Research in Learning, Assessing and Tutoring Effectively organisation at MIT outlayed 4 years saying how majority copied answers MIT students submitted to MasteringPhysics, an online task education system.

MIT freshmen are compulsory to take physics, pronounced Lee. Homework was since by a Web-based mentor that the organisation had developed. We analyzed when they logged in, when they logged out, what kind of problems they solved and what kinds of hints they used.

Lee pronounced that it was easy to mark students who had performed answers from classmates prior to completing the homework.

We ran in to really enchanting students who could compromise the problems -- really tough problems -- in less than one minute, but creation any mistakes, pronounced Lee.

Students additionally were asked to finish an unknown consult about the magnitude of their task copying. (According to the survey, students nationally confess to enchanting in some-more educational duplicity than MIT students.)

Among the researchers" majority important findings:

Students who procrastinated additionally copied some-more often. Those who proposed their task 3 days forward of deadline copied less than 10 percent of their problems, whilst those who dragged their feet until the last notation were repeated copiers.

The students who copied often had about 3 times the possibility of unwell the course.

Results of the consult show that students are twice as expected to duplicate on created task than on online homework. This investigate showed that you do all the task reserved is a surer track to examination success than a preexisting aptitude for physics.

People hold that students duplicate since of their bad educational skills, Lee said. But we found that repeated copiers -- students who duplicate over thirty percent of their task problems -- had sufficient knowledge, at slightest at the commencement of the semester. But they didn"t put sufficient bid in. They didn"t begin their task prolonged sufficient forward of time, as compared to noncopiers.

Because repeated copiers don"t sufficient sense production topics on that they duplicate the homework, Lee said, the investigate strongly implies that duplicating caused disappearing opening on analytic exam problems after in the semester.

Even though everybody knows not you do task is bad for learning, no one knows how bad it is, pronounced Lee. Now we have a quantitative measurement. It could have an A tyro get B or even C.

At the commencement of a semester, the researchers found that duplicating was not as drawn out as it was late in the semester.

Obviously, the volume of duplicating was not so prevalent since the educational bucket was not as most at the commencement of the semester, pronounced Lee. In sequence to duplicate solutions, the students need to set up their networks. They need to get to know each alternative so that they can ask for the answers.

But the KU researcher and his MIT colleagues additionally demonstrated that changes to college march formats -- such as violation up large harangue classes in to not as big college of music classes, augmenting interactions in between training staff and students, becoming different the grading complement -- could revoke tyro duplicating fourfold.

Genetics in the Gut: Intestinal Microbes Could Drive Obesity and Other Health Issues



Outnumbering the human cells by about 10 to one, the most diminutive microbes that live in and on the bodies are a big piece of consequential bland functions. The lion"s share live in the abdominal tract, where they assistance deflect off bad germ and assist in digesting the dinners. But as scientists make use of genetics to expose what microbes are essentially benefaction and what they"re you do in there, they are finding that the bugs fool around an even incomparable purpose in human health than formerly suspected--and maybe at times exerting some-more change than human genes themselves. [More]

Bit Defender

Kristen Stewart Shows Support At Robert Pattinsons Remember Me Premiere

Robert Pattinson took New York by storm Monday night with the fan-frenzied premiere of his new drama with Pierce Brosnan and Emilie De Ravin, "Remember Me" -- and his "Twilight Saga" co-star Kristen Stewart came out to show her support

"This young man Robert Pattinson has the bull by the horns and he"s got his head on his shoulders as well," Pierce tells "The Insider" about his co-star. Part of the film"s storyline is about a father losing his son to depression, and the former 007 addressed the news of Marie Osmond"s son"s suicide, saying to Marie, "Lots of love, good faith, be strong."

Pierce"s wife, Keely Shaye Smith, added, "Our hearts go out to her. It"s very, very sad. We"re very sorry. Condolences to her and her children, her family."

In theaters March 12, "Remember Me" follows Robert as he struggles to win the attention and respect of his father (played by Pierce) and falls headlong into a romantic affair with an extraordinary, eccentric girl, played by Emilie.

"It is a kind of very tragic story in a lot of ways," Robert tells "The Insider," adding that he never quite gets used to the frenzied attention on the red carpet.

Watch "The Insider" for more with the stars of "Remember Me"

Sarkozy seeks appropriation precision for chief appetite

Marie Maitre and Crispian Balmer PARIS Mon Mar 8, 2010 8:58am EST

PARIS (Reuters) - International development banks must finance civilian nuclear projects to help emerging nations build energy plants, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday, laying out ambitious plans to develop the industry.

France is one of the world"s largest users of nuclear energy, generating 80 percent of its power consumption from a network of 58 nuclear reactors, and is actively seeking to sell its nuclear technology to countries around the world.

"I do not understand and I do not accept the ostracisation of nuclear projects by international financing," Sarkozy told a major conference on nuclear energy.

Nuclear power producer EDF and reactor maker Areva were among a French consortium which bid for and lost a $40 billion nuclear project in Abu Dhabi in December.

They remain very active on the export front, trying to sell their decades-long nuclear expertise to countries such as the United States, Britain, Italy, China or India.

Sarkozy said the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other such institutions should make a "wholehearted commitment" to fund civilian nuclear energy programmes.

"It is a scandal that international organizations today do not finance nuclear projects," he said. "The current situation means that countries are condemned to rely on more costly energy that causes greater pollution."

The nuclear option is now part of a mix of power sources countries need to develop to ensure their energy security, said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

"The gas crisis in 2009, the economic crisis and the climate alert have changed the situation. Nuclear energy is now increasingly seen as a possible solution to ensure energy supply security and the fight against climate change," Barroso told the conference after Sarkozy"s speech.

In an effort to make nuclear energy more attractive to potential buyers, Sarkozy said he also wanted a change in international laws to allow nuclear producers to benefit from carbon credits that are currently denied to the industry.

"I propose that CO2 credits be used to finance all forms of decarbonised energy under the new global architecture after 2013," he told an audience of nuclear experts gathered at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

FOCUS ON FUEL AND TRAINING

Some 56 nuclear reactors are under construction around the world and the United Nations says that over the next 20 years more than 20 states, including emerging economies, could put into service their first reactor for civilian energy.

It also estimates that some 60 countries are considering nuclear programmes, with many of them dispatching ministers and senior officials to Paris for the two-day conference.

Among the measures needed to promote the development of the industry, Sarkozy said he wanted to see better training and steps to secure the supply of nuclear fuel.

He proposed creating an International Nuclear Energy Institute in France.

"It will bring together the best teachers and researchers to provide very high quality education," he said.

He also put forward a plan to set up a fuel bank under the authority of the U.N."s International Atomic Energy Agency, which would step in when fuel supplies were interrupted.

Only countries that respected non-proliferation treaties would be able to benefit from such international infrastructure.

"One cannot ask for civil nuclear energy cooperation, with the long-term partnership and responsibility that it entails, and then renege on international obligations," he said, in a clear reference to Iran, which is locked in conflict with the West over its nuclear programme.

(Editing by Noah Barkin)

Nearby bone cells might trigger a little red blood cancers

Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO Sun Mar 21, 2010 2:07pm EDT Related News New attack on cancer forces cells to grow old and dieThu, Mar 18 2010New attack on cancer forces cells to grow old and dieWed, Mar 17 2010UPDATE 1-New attack on cancer forces cells to grow old & dieWed, Mar 17 2010

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Certain blood cancers may be triggered by signals sent from surrounding bone cells, not by individual cells going bad, and interrupting those signals may offer a new approach to treating leukemia, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.

Health

"Cancer is generally thought to be a single cell going rogue. It does so by accumulating a series of genetic injuries," said Dr. David Scadden of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, whose study appears in the journal Nature.

But Scadden and colleagues instead found that genetic changes in bone cells -- where blood stem cells reside -- can cause mice to develop myelodysplasia, a condition that can lead to an acute form of the blood cancer leukemia.

Studies in mice showed that when the team altered a gene in the bone cells called Dicer1, it had a damaging effect on blood stem cells as well.

"The blood started to take on a picture which resembled a very poorly understood human disease called myelodysplasia," Scadden, who directs the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, said in a telephone interview.

"It has a complication of developing leukemia," he said, which is exactly what some of the animals in the study did.

"The reason that this is important is it says the environment can actually become such an important part of the function of the tissue -- the blood in this case -- that it can lead to the emergence of new genetic abnormalities that can become fatal for the whole organism," Scadden said.

He said the findings offer a new understanding of the source of some cancers, which can come from outside of cells.

Scadden said interrupting the communication between surrounding cells and cancer cells could offer another approach to making cancer drugs.

(Editing by Xavier Briand)

Health

Fireman saves lady engineer from drowning after she drives opposite flooded travel

She can hardly claim she hadn"t been warned.

The sign at the side of the fordclearly states that it can be impassable after heavy rain, while thedepth marker shows the water swirling between the 4ft and 5ft mark.

Yet 62-year-old Anne Kennedy ploughed straight on - to disaster.

Drama: The fireman steps in to save this woman driver from drowning in the swollen River Loddon

Mistake: The unnamed driver decides to brave crossing a flood-swollen ford

Rescue: The normally inches-deep ford was at least five feet deep as she tried to cross it

Her black Vauxhall Astra was swept down the River Loddon in Berkshire with the helpless driver clinging to the steering wheel.

By the time firemen arrived thewater inside the car was chest deep and Mrs Kennedy was in danger ofdrowning. With no time to wait for a boat, they inflated a hose to useas a line to the vehicle then managed to break a side window and dragher to safety.

She was allowed home from hospital after treatment for exposure.

Mrs Kennedy, who lives inHenley-on-Thames and is a director of Henley Management Solutions,could not explain why she missed the warning signs. "As I began drivingthrough I realised how awful it was," she said.

"I stopped to put it in reverse andthe car began slipping. I tried to go forward again but the brakesstopped working. Then the engine cut out.

"It was an interesting experience tosay the least. I tried my best to remain calm. The worst part was theelectrics shut down so I couldn"t open the windows. I was completelytrapped.

"At times I thought I might not make it, but once the firefighters arrived I felt like I had a 50/50 chance."

The dramatic pictures of theincident were taken by Steve Collier, landlord of the Land"s End pubnext to the ford at Charvil, near Reading. Both he and Mrs Kennedy called 999.

"I couldn"t believe it when the Astra just drove in," he said.

Clear warning: The sign for all drivers heading towards the ford

"Straight away the back end of the car was dragged to the left and you could see there was no movement from inside the car.

"Within a couple of minutes the windows were steaming up and the car was being dragged down the river by the current.

"Itwas in far too deep for any rescue attempt with a normal car and all wecould do was ring 999."

RoyalBerkshire Fire and Rescue Service watch manager Phil Holdford added: "If we had left it any longer therecould have been serious issues so we effected a rescue," said RoyalBerkshire Fire and Rescue Service watch manager Phil Holdford.

"Shewas extremely cold and shocked at what had happened. The ford was about5ft deep in the middle and the car had floated some way downstream.

"No-oneshould drive into a ford when the water is as deep as that." MrCollier said up to 120 motorists were rescued from the water each yearafter ignoring the clearly displayed warning signs.

"We really do not understand why people do it," he said.

"It is at least 50ft to the other side and you can clearly see the water ahead of you moving very very quickly.

"Iknow some people blame satellite navigation systems and others thinkthey can cross it in the summer so will be able to do it now."

Firefightershad been called to same the ford last Saturday to rescue two men whobecame stranded in a VW Passat. The car had to be winched from theswollen Ford.