External links are provided for reference purposes. ABC News is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. Copyright © 2013 ABC News Internet Ventures. Yahoo! - ABC News Network
Quotes delayed 15 minutes for NASDAQ. 20 minutes for NYSE and AMEX. Market Data provided by Interactive Data. Terms & Conditions.
Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions
Mythical King Midas was ultimately doomed because everything he touched turned to gold. Now, the reverse has been found in bacteria that owe their survival to a natural Midas touch.
Delftia acidovorans lives in sticky biofilms that form on top of gold deposits, but exposure to dissolved gold ions can kill it. That's because although metallic gold is unreactive, the ions are toxic.
To protect itself, the bacterium has evolved a chemical that detoxifies gold ions by turning them into harmless gold nanoparticles. These accumulate safely outside the bacterial cells.
"This could have potential for gold extraction," says Nathan Magarvey of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, who led the team that uncovered the bugs' protective trick. "You could use the bug, or the molecules they secrete."
He says the discovery could be used to dissolve gold out of water carrying it, or to design sensors that would identify gold-rich streams and rivers.
The protective chemical is a protein dubbed delftibactin A. The bugs secrete it into the surroundings when they sense gold ions, and it chemically changes the ions into particles of gold 25 to 50 nanometres across. The particles accumulate wherever the bugs grow, creating patches of gold.
But don't go scanning streams for golden shimmers: the nanoparticle patches do not reflect light in the same way as bigger chunks of the metal – giving them a deep purple colour.
When Magarvey deliberately snipped out the gene that makes delftibactin A, the bacteria died or struggled to survive exposure to gold chloride. Adding the protein to the petri dish rescued them.
The bacterium Magarvey investigated is one of two species that thrive on gold, both identified a decade or so ago by Frank Reith of the University of Adelaide in Australia. In 2009 Reith discovered that the other species, Cupriavidus metallidurans, survives using the slightly riskier strategy of changing gold ions into gold inside its cells.
"If delftibactin is selective for gold, it might be useful for gold recovery or as a biosensor," says Reith. "But how much dissolved gold is out there is difficult to say."
Journal reference: Nature Chemical Biology, DOI: 10.1038/NCHEMBIO.1179
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.
All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.
If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.
SINGAPORE: Topless - that's how some S-League players were spotted at Orchard Road on Sunday.
The bare-bodied manoeuvre was a publicity stunt for the 2013 S-League season, which kicks off later this month.
The 10 players were not completely naked from the waist up though; their bodies were painted in their respective team strip.
Joining them was S-League CEO Lim Chin, who was game enough to market the league in the bold and rather bare fashion.
Accompanied by fans, the entourage walked down Singapore's famous shopping district distributing flyers.
The approach was a departure from the usual carnivals held by organisers to connect with potential supporters, giving new meaning to 'meeting your heroes in the flesh'.
"I want the players to be involved ... We wanted to something to show… that we really want to reach out to the public, from the players right down to the kit man, to myself," said Mr Lim.
The 2013 season kicks off with the Charity Shield on 15 February, where defending champions Tampines Rovers will take on League Cup winners the Warriors at Jalan Besar Stadium.
- CNA/jc
Can she help?
In the first quarter of today's Big Game featuring big people doing big things to each other, Amy Poehler will be trying to do big things for Best Buy.
Unlike the players -- who will probably be tied 3-3 in a dull defensive battle when Amy appears -- Poehler has one shot to give the Best Buy brand a shot in arm. Or perhaps a shot at redemption.
Best Buy has been crossing some turbulent oceans recently, so securing the services of one of America' funniest actors is a pleasant coup.
The company has released a sneak preview (embedded here) of Poehler asking questions that are sweetly self-referential, so it may be that this theme will continue during today's spot.
The idea seems to be that whatever questions you have, those nice people in blue polo shirts will have the answer for you.
In order to reinforce this dream, Best Buy has co-opted the hashtag #infiniteanswers on Twitter.
Naturally, there have already been slight setbacks with this strategy.
For example, a twitterer called Jonathan has already offered: "#infiniteanswers not at your Willimar MN location I have seen smarter things come out of a dead animal."
Worse, another tweeter, Billy Byler seemed to be experiencing a little humorous bile: "Every answer was 'Not sure. Check Amazon.' @BestBuy: Amy Poehler visited us & had A LOT of questions. http://youtu.be/PcmW8HCuLo8 #infiniteanswers."
Can you win them over, Amy? Can you?
Photograph by Dieu Nalio Chery, AP
The magnitude 7 earthquake that struck near Port au Prince, Haiti, in January 2010 so devastated the country that recovery efforts are still ongoing.
Professional dancer Georges Exantus, one of the many casualties of that day, was trapped in his flattened apartment for three days, according to news reports. After friends dug him out, doctors amputated his right leg below the knee. With the help of a prosthetic leg, Exantus is able to dance again. (Read about his comeback.)
Why We Love It
"This is an intimate photo, taken in the subject's most personal space as he lies asleep and vulnerable, perhaps unaware of the photographer. The dancer's prosthetic leg lies in the foreground as an unavoidable reminder of the hardships he faced in the 2010 earthquake. This image makes me want to hear more of Georges' story."—Ben Fitch, associate photo editor
"This image uses aesthetics and the beauty of suggestion to tell a story. We are not given all the details in the image, but it is enough to make us question and wonder."—Janna Dotschkal, associate photo editor
Published February 1, 2013
A former Marine has been charged with three counts of murder in the killing of former Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle, the most deadly sniper in U.S. history, and another man at an Erath County, Texas, gun range, police said.
"We have lost more than we can replace. Chris was a patriot, a great father, and a true supporter of this country and its ideals. This is a tragedy for all of us. I send my deepest prayers and thoughts to his wife and two children," Scott McEwen, co-author of "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History," said in a statement to ABC News.
Remembering Kyle for the number of Iraqi insurgents he killed misstates his legacy, McEwen said.
"His legacy is not one of being the most lethal sniper in United States history," McEwen said. In my opinion, his legacy is one of saving lives in a very difficult situation where Americans where going to be killed if he was not able to do his job."
Kyle and a neighbor of his were shot at a gun range in Glen Rose while helping a former Marine who was recovering from post traumatic stress syndrome, ABC affiliate WFAA-TV in Dallas reported.
AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Paul Moseley
The suspect, identified as Eddie Ray Routh, 25, was arrested in Lancaster, Texas, after a brief police chase, a Lancaster Police Department dispatcher told ABC News. Routh was driving Kyle's truck at the time of his arrest, police said.
Routh was arraigned Saturday evening on one count of capital murder and two counts of murder. He was brought to the Erath County Jail this morning and was being held there today on a combined $3 million bond, Officer Kyle Roberts said.
Investigators told WFAA that Routh is a former Marine said to suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Kyle helped found a nonprofit that provides at-home fitness equipment for emotionally and physically wounded veterans, but the director of the foundation said Kyle and Routh had not met through the organization.
"Chris was literally the type of guy if you were a veteran and needed help he'd help you," Travis Cox, the director of FITCO Cares, told The Associated Press. "And from my understanding that's what happened here. I don't know how he came in contact with this gentleman, but I do know that it was not through the foundation."
Authorities identified the other man who was killed with Kyle as 35-year-old Chad Littlefield, who Cox said was Kyle's neighbor and friend.
PHOTOS: Notable Deaths in 2013
Kyle, 38, served four tours in Iraq and was awarded two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars with Valor, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation.
From 1999 to 2009, Kyle recorded more than 150 sniper kills, the most in U.S. military history.
After leaving combat duty, Kyle became chief instructor training Naval Special Warfare Sniper and Counter-Sniper teams, and he authored the Naval Special Warfare Sniper Doctrine, the first Navy SEAL sniper manual. He left the Navy in 2009.
"American Sniper," which was published last year by William Morrow, became a New York Times best seller.
IF TWO animals have identical brain cells, how different can they really be? Extremely. Two worm species have exactly the same set of neurons, but extensive rewiring allows them to lead completely different lives.
Ralf Sommer of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen, Germany, and colleagues compared Caenorhabditis elegans, which eats bacteria, with Pristionchus pacificus, which hunts other worms. Both have a cluster of 20 neurons to control their foregut.
Sommer found that the clusters were identical. "These species are separated by 200 to 300 million years, but have the same cells," he says. P. pacificus, however, has denser connections than C. elegans, with neural signals passing through many more cells before reaching the muscles (Cell, doi.org/kbh). This suggests that P. pacificus is performing more complex motor functions, says Detlev Arendt of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany.
Arendt thinks predators were the first animals to evolve complex brains, to find and catch moving prey. He suggests their brains had flexible wiring, enabling them to swap from plant-eating to hunting.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Identical brains, but one eats the other"
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.
All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.
If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.
JERUSALEM: Israeli President Shimon Peres tasked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday with forming a new government after two days of intense talks with the parties recently elected to the new parliament.
"I have decided to charge Benjamin Netanyahu with forming the government," Peres said at a press conference at his official residence in Jerusalem, after 82 of the 120 members of the Knesset had declared in favour of the premier.
- AFP/de
Evelyn Husband-Thompson, widow of Columbia Commander Rick Husband, remembers the fallen crew and the devastating impact of the 2003 disaster in a ceremony Friday at the Space Mirror Memorial honoring fallen astronauts.
In an emotional memorial service, the widow of the shuttle Columbia's commander recalled their last meeting the day before launch and the devastation the families felt when they learned their loved ones had perished during re-entry 10 years ago Friday.
Speaking in front of the Space Mirror Memorial to fallen astronauts at the Kennedy Space Center's visitor complex, Evelyn Husband-Thompson shared memories of Columbia commander Rick Husband and his six crewmates, saying how proud the families were of the crew's accomplishments during their 16-day science mission.
The night before landing, the families "shared a meal together at a local restaurant," she said. "I went to bed with the NASA (television) channel left on quietly in the background and I fell asleep, thanking God for the great mission, and I was so excited for the reunion with my husband."
Instead, the families listened in disbelief at the shuttle's 3-mile-long runway the next morning as it became clear Columbia had suffered a catastrophic failure during re-entry.
"February 1, 2003, became a traumatic, shocking day," Husband-Thompson said. "Anticipating a joyful homecoming of our crew, we were jolted in the viewing area into a nightmarish stroll of fear, uncertainty, and horror that led to a crushing announcement that the crew had perished during re-entry.
"Words of sorrow, efforts to comfort, even fathoming the magnitude of loss was overwhelming that day. Looks of disbelief from one family member to another brought little comfort. The shock was so intense that even tears were not freely able to fall. They would come in the weeks, months, and years to follow, in waves and in buckets."
And in the months and years that followed, she said, "the human spirit, created by God, began to minister to my family."
"Friends and family cared for us, and countless thousands of others prayed for us. To all of you, I want to say thank you.... God bless the families of STS-107. May our broken hearts continue to heal and may beauty continue to replace the ashes. God bless you."
In an interview before the ceremony, Husband-Thompson said she remains a strong supporter of NASA and the manned space program.
"NASA's an amazing group of folks and they have been hugely supportive of us," she said. "It was Rick's dream since he was 4 years old, and obviously what happened was devastating. But it doesn't stop the cause of space exploration. I totally support it. It's contributed so much to our world."
Several hundred space managers, engineers, and acquaintances gathered to mark the 10th anniversary of the Columbia disaster, the 27th anniversary of Challenger's loss on Jan. 28, 1986, and the 46th anniversary of a launch pad fire on Jan. 27, 1967, that killed three Apollo astronauts.
Husband-Thompson chats with friends before a memorial service marking the 10th anniversary of the Columbia disaster.
Their names are carved in the Space Mirror Memorial, along with others who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight.
Columbia was destroyed during re-entry when hot gas penetrated the shuttle's left wing through a hole in a leading edge heat shield panel. The hole was caused by the impact of foam insulation that fell from the ship's external tank during launch 16 days earlier.
As a postaccident investigation would show, NASA had a long history of problems with "foam shedding," but continued to launch shuttles without a thorough understanding of the implications.
"In looking back, there was no malicious intent by any engineer or manager in the decisions they made that led to the loss of Columbia and her crew," said Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana, a veteran shuttle commander. "They were doing their very best to be successful. But we are human and oftentimes, when lacking sufficient data, we make poor decisions. And that results in events like Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia."
Cabana said NASA had learned from its mistakes "and we are going on to even greater accomplishments."
"But we must never forget the hard lessons that we learned in the past," he told the crowd. "It's important that we pause to remember and reflect. We must do our very best to prevent something like that from ever happening again. Too much is at stake."
William Gerstenmaier, director of manned space operations at NASA Headquarters in Washington, echoed Cabana's sentiments, saying the Columbia accident "wasn't caused by a single event or a single person, but by a series of technical and cultural missteps stemming all the way back to the first shuttle launch in 1981 when ice and foam first struck the (orbiter)."
"This was a first indication we had a design problem," he said. "But we continued to fly without fully investigating the consequences of foam hitting the orbiter. We continued to lose foam on many missions and this reinforced the idea that all was well. We did not stay hungry, and we didn't deeply analyze the implications of foam being released at precisely the wrong moment."
He cautioned engineers to stay vigilant, to "recognize even the smallest potential flaw can become a big problem."
"In honor of the Columbia crew, it is our job to be aware of the technical subtleties and be creative about understanding them and the underlying problems," he said. "Even small problems can surface as major failures."
At the conclusion of the memorial ceremony, three NASA T-38 jets roared overhead in a "missing man" formation. Gospel singer BeBe Winans performed his song "Ultimate Sacrifice," and Husband-Thompson, assisted by Gerstenmaier, Cabana, and Eileen Collins, commander of the first post-Columbia shuttle mission, placed a wreath at the base of the Space Mirror.
Photograph by Dieu Nalio Chery, AP
The magnitude 7 earthquake that struck near Port au Prince, Haiti, in January 2010 so devastated the country that recovery efforts are still ongoing.
Professional dancer Georges Exantus, one of the many casualties of that day, was trapped in his flattened apartment for three days, according to news reports. After friends dug him out, doctors amputated his right leg below the knee. With the help of a prosthetic leg, Exantus is able to dance again. (Read about his comeback.)
Why We Love It
"This is an intimate photo, taken in the subject's most personal space as he lies asleep and vulnerable, perhaps unaware of the photographer. The dancer's prosthetic leg lies in the foreground as an unavoidable reminder of the hardships he faced in the 2010 earthquake. This image makes me want to hear more of Georges' story."—Ben Fitch, associate photo editor
"This image uses aesthetics and the beauty of suggestion to tell a story. We are not given all the details in the image, but it is enough to make us question and wonder."—Janna Dotschkal, associate photo editor
Published February 1, 2013
Copyright © News eristical. All rights reserved.
Design 
