Happy Van Damme Christmas!!!!

Dog in Germany gives birth to 17 puppies

(AP)

BERLIN (AP) — A dog in Germany has given birth to 17 puppies, leaving their owner thrilled but fatigued after having to feed them with a bottle for several weeks because their mother couldn't cope with the demand.

Owner Ramona Wegemann said Monday she barely slept for more than a couple of minutes without interruption during about four weeks in an "exhausting" struggle to make sure all of the purebred Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies would survive.

She said when she was "finished feeding the last puppy, the first was hungry again."

Wegemann's dog Etana gave birth to eight female and nine male puppies on Sept. 28 in Ebereschenhof, which is near Berlin.

At least five times a day, Wegemann gave the dogs a bottle with special milk because their mother's nipples could have never coped with the demand, and when the puppies were not hungry, they wanted to be entertained, she said.

Wegemann said when dogs give birth to so many puppies several of them die within the first week. "But all of our puppies survived. This is incredible and wonderful," the 32-year-old added.

It was the second time that Etana gave birth. She gave birth to eight puppies in her first pregnancy, not uncommon for the dog's breed, Wegemann said.

"The birth of the puppies was very special. All puppies were born naturally, no cesarean was necessary," she added. It took Etana a full 26 hours to give birth to all of the puppies — and Wegemann was as baffled as amazed.

But caring for 17 puppies turned out to be a full-time job: Wegemann put her work as an independent animal psychiatrist on a hold and her husband took as much vacation as he could.

Their lives have been turned upside down by the puppies, and their living room is now occupied by a giant box that houses the puppies.

But even Wegemann still struggles to recognize them: The females puppies are called Bahati, Binta, Bahya, Bashima, Batouuli, Binki, Bora, Bisa and the male ones are Baakir, Banjoku, Belay, Bruk, Bundu, Bayo, Bukekayo, Biton and Bulus.

Wegemann gave them all African names because the Rhodesian Ridgeback is an African hunting dog. Wegeman and her husband now plan to give most of the puppies away.

A price of ?800 ($1,050) per puppy would only cover the expenses for the veterinary, vaccinations, food and the mandatory paperwork, Wegemann said. She hopes to get about ?1,000 ($1,315) per dog, but said they would only give them to families with children, not breeders.

Four of the puppies have been sold, two more are already paid for and will leave their siblings shortly.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Mark Wahlberg &Will Smith Offered $1 Million ToFight In Celebrity Boxing Match

From: http://www.radaronline.com/

Mark Wahlberg and Will Smith will be offered a cool $1 million each to fight in a celebrity boxing match on February 26, 2011, in Las Vegas, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.
PHOTOS: Will Smith And Jada Pinkett Smith Out And About in NYC
Damon Feldman, CEO of Hollywood Boxing Federation, formerly known as Celebrity Boxing Federation, is putting the offer out to the two superstars Monday.
He told RadarOnline.com: "This will be a great opportunity for both stars to fight in the Superbowl of Hollywood boxing and to donate millions to their favorite charities."
PHOTOS: Mark Wahlberg's Style Evolution
"It would be a great event too. Can you imagine?
"Both guys have trained with professional boxers. Will Smith played Muhammad Ali in Ali and was phenomenal. Wahlberg is currently playing Mickey Ward in The Fighter.
"Come on, I really think that this would be a huge event and great way for them to donate to their favorite charities."
Feldman said the concept is for Smith and Wahlberg to fight three, one minute rounds.
"We don't think these two are going to rip each others heads off," Feldman said. "We're just hoping they get into the ring and have a little fun duking it out."
PHOTO: Floyd Mayweather -- Best Mug Shot Ever!
While the date has been set, the exact location has not yet been determined.
Other celebs who have fought in the Hollywood Boxing Federation include Jose Canseco, Rodney King, Michael Lohan and Danny Bonaduce.
PHOTOS: Mark Wahlberg Is A Family Guy
We're all waiting to see whether Smith and Wahlberg say yes to the deal.

Periodic table gets a makeover

From: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/

Remember memorizing the periodic table in high school? Well, forget it. Some information on the table is about to be reset. The world's top chemists and physicists have determined that the atomic weights of 10 elements - ones you've actually heard of - need to be expressed as an interval (or range) rather than a static number, Science Daily reports. The new atomic weights of hydrogen, lithium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur, chlorine and thallium will more accurately reflect how those elements occur in nature. "For example, sulfur is commonly known to have a standard atomic weight of 32.065. However, its actual atomic weight can be anywhere between 32.059 and 32.076, depending on where the element is found," the article explains. The change will take effect in 2011, designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Chemistry, according to Science Daily. No word yet from CBS on whether the changes will require major rewrites of upcoming episodes of "The Big Bang Theory."

The Top 10 Best Albums of 2010

By Joseph Oliveto
from http://beatcrave.com/2010-12-16/the-top-10-best-albums-of-2010/

It’s often said about any popular art form, be it music or movies or literature, that what’s being produced today pales in comparison to the classics. Well, while we here at BeatCrave certainly reserve a high degree of reverence for what’s come before, we also know it’s foolish to make a blanket statement like that when there’s so much good music being released these days. Say what you want about the commercial hype machine forsaking quality in favor of sales; that’s been a part of the business since the days of Elvis, and although it’s true that record companies would probably rather find the next N’Syncbefore the next Pixies, that doesn’t stop good albums from slipping through the system.

Don’t believe us? Give these 2010 releases a listen and see if you haven’t changed your mind…

10.) American Slang by The Gaslight Anthem

After grabbing some mainstream exposure with their previous album, The 59 Sound, these working class Jersey boys fulfilled the potential it implied by releasing the strongest disc of their career. Full of Motown melodies, classic rock’n roll guitar, and heartfelt lyrics, it’s perhaps the best piece of Americana since The River.

• How High Was the Anticipation Level? 5/10
• How Well Did it Pay Off? 7/10
• How Well Did it Improve on Past Work? 6/10
• Combined Score: 18

Buy it on Amazon.com!

9.) Speak Now by Taylor Swift

She may sing about the kind of idealized adolescent love that isn’t of interest to anyone outside of theTwilight crowd, but love her, hate her, or only know about her because you have a teenage daughter, Taylor Swift is undeniably talented. And she’s only twenty!

• Anticipation Level: 8/10
• Pay-Off: 7/10
• Improvement: 4/10
• Score: 19

Buy it on Amazon.com!

8.) Congratulations by MGMT

You could be forgiven for being disappointed with this follow-up to Oracular Spectacular. Not a single track on the album was as immediately accessible as “Kids.” Still, gotta give the band credit for going the In Utero route and trying to do their own thing. However, they may be trying too hard; they wrote a song called “Brian Eno” to appeal to hipsters and prove they’re not sell-outs, whether they’ll admit it or not.

• Anticipation Level: 8/10
• Pay-Off: 7/10
• Improvement: 5/10
• Score: 20

Buy it on Amazon.com!

7.) Brothers by The Black Keys

If you even once tuned your radio to an alt-rock station during 2010, you heard this band’s “Tighten Up.” They’ve been around for nearly a decade and it was about time they hit it big. We doubt they’ll change their blues-drenched style now that they’ve had a taste of success. Look at that picture. That is not what sell-outs look like.

• Anticipation Level: 4/10
• Pay-Off: 9/10
• Improvement: 9/10
• Score: 22

Buy it on Amazon.com!

6.) Recovery by Eminem

When he’s wasn’t calling out any other musical artist who isn’t him in remarkably juvenile ways–he’s never been as clever or insightful as his fans claim–Eminem’s early career involved endless self-analysis and claims that he was a changed man. This is basically more of the same, but his rhymes are as catchy as ever and the track “Love the Way You Lie” expresses a genuine sensitivity that his earlier work only hinted at.

• Anticipation Level: 9/10
• Pay-Off: 8/10
• Improvement: 7/10
• Score: 24

Buy it on Amazon.com!

5.) This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem

We might as well call it revolutionary simply because this is the first time in a long time that “dance music” has also been “good music.” Rumors abound that this is the last release for LCD Soundsystem, and seeing as it may be the best, it’s as good a place to stop as any.

• Anticipation Level: 8/10
• Pay-Off: 10/10
• Improvement: 7/10
• Score: 25

Buy it on Amazon.com!

4.) The Suburbs by The Arcade Fire

It doesn’t have any of the “we’re not sure if music can change lives but we’ll sure as hell try” urgency that made the song “Wake Up” an instant classic, but the melodies are memorable and the band sounds like they’re still willing to explore. It’s hard to go wrong with this group.

• Anticipation Level: 10/10
• Pay-Off: 8/10
• Improvement: 8/10
• Score: 26

Buy it on Amazon.com!

3.) Contra by Vampire Weekend

This unclassifiable band of Columbia-educated music geeks may dablle in just about every obscure genre imaginable, but it all comes down to one thing: pop. And we’re not talking about bland, cookie-cutter teeny-bopper pop. We’re talking about “you’ll be humming along to these tunes even if it’s the first time you’ve ever heard them” pop. Few bands can craft hooks as skillfully and consistently as theseguys.

• Anticipation Level: 10/10
• Pay-Off: 9/10
• Improvement: 8/10
• Score: 27

Buy it on Amazon.com!

2.) High Violet by The National

The worth of a band can often be measured in whether or not another band could take their place. Based on that principle, The National proves to one of the best bands in years. Baritone vocals and layered arrangements blend together resulting in an album of pure musical bliss, the best yet from this band. They’re finally getting the attention they deserve and left Letterman grasping for the right words when they performed on his show earlier this year.

• Anticipation Level: 7/10
• Pay-Off: 10/10
• Improvement: 10/10
• Score: 27

Buy it on Amazon.com!

1.) My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West

Kanye West seems absolutely incapable of keeping his mouth shut. Luckily for us, half of the time that is because he’s delivering unparalled songs to the masses. He’s got massive ambition and the talent to match. Few artists aim this high and far fewer hit their target. Readers, will let you have your comments, but we just want to say that Kanye West had one of the best albums of all time.

Or at least the year.

• Anticipation Level: 10/10
• Pay-Off: 10/10
• Improvement: 8/10
• Score: 28

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.

Time lapse video of Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse on December 21, 2010 from 1:10 AM EST (6:10 GMT) to 5:03 AM EST (10:03 GMT) from Gainesville Florida. Music is Claude Debussy Nocturnes: Sirènes.

Vending machine spits out gold bars and coins

From: http://www.usatoday.com/

Enlarge By Sean Gallup, Getty Images Thomas Geissler demonstrates his Gold To Go dispenser Oct. 21, 2010 in Berlin, Germany.

By Kelli Kennedy, Associated Press

BOCA RATON, Fla. — If you're a shopper looking for something sparkly to put under the Christmas tree, you could skip the jewelry and just go for the gold.

A German company planned to install a vending machine that dispenses gold bars and coins Friday at an upscale mall in Boca Raton, a South Florida city of palm trees, pink buildings and wealthy retirees.

Thomas Geissler, CEO of Ex Oriente Lux and inventor of the Gold To Go machines, expects the majority of buyers will be walk-ups taken by the novelty. But he says the machines are also convenient for more serious investors looking to bypass the hassle of buying gold at pawn shops and over the Internet.

"Instead of buying flowers or chocolates, which is gone after two or three minutes, this will stay for the next few hundreds years," Geissler told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The company installed its first machine at Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace hotel in May and followed up with gold ATMs in Germany, Spain and Italy. Geissler said they plan to unroll a few hundred machines worldwide in 2011. He said the Abu Dhabi machine has been so popular it has to be restocked every two days.

The gold-leaf-covered machine at Boca Raton's Town Center Mall sits outside a gourmet chocolate store and works just like the two cash ATMs beside it. Shoppers insert cash or credit cards and use a computer touch-screen to choose the weight and style of gold. The machine spits out the gold in a classy black box with a tamper-proof seal.

Each machine, manufactured in Germany, carries about 320 pieces of different-size bars and coins. The machines are connected to the Internet and the company says prices are refigured automatically every 10 minutes to reflect market fluctuations. At one point earlier this week, a two-gram piece cost about $120, including packaging, certification and a 5% markup. An ounce cost about $1,470.

Buyer beware: A gram of the heavy metal is much smaller than you think, about the size of a fingernail. An ounce is a little larger than a quarter.

Owners say the machine, which will hold around $150,000 in cash and gold, will be flanked by an armed bodyguard for now. Several live security cameras are fixed inside and outside the machine.

The popularity of gold is cyclical, but it's riding high these days in part because of fears stoked by financial collapse.

Geissler, who plans to have a machine in Las Vegas by year's end, said the collapse of the Lehman Brothers investment firm was the impetus for the flashy vending machines. His customers refused to buy bonds, stocks and other funds from the financial industry, so they focused on precious metals.

As investors continued to lose faith in the global finance market system, the company worked on the gold-leaf finished ATM, banking that the protection of purchasing power found in gold would lure market leery customers.

"Gold always comes back to its real value," Geissler said. "It's not diamonds, it's not silver, it's not real estate. It's just gold."

Dave Jones, who brokered the deal to bring the machines to the U.S., says there are plans to install about 40 more machines at upscale malls and hotels around the U.S.

"Gold has a place in everyone's portfolio," said Jones, of Boca Raton-based PMX Gold. 

Associated Press writer Suzette Laboy contributed to this report.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

New iPhone translator app instantly translates printed words using the camera

by Atul

from http://www.geekfill.com/

The unbelievable iPhone translator app, World Lens, auto-replaces the text with accurate camera mapping and instantly translates printed words from one language to another using the video camera on your iPhone,. No network delay, no roaming fees, and no reception problems.


Word Lens is a dictionary — evolved. It looks up words for you, and shows them in context. You can use Word Lens on your vacations to translate restaurant menus, street signs, and other things that have clearly printed words. It currently only supports Spanish to English annd English to Spanish.

UAE hotel erects 11-million-dollar Christmas tree

From: http://news.yahoo.com/

 

AFP – An Emirati man walks past an 11-million-dollar Christmas tree at the Emirates Palace hotel in the Emirati …

by W.G. Dunlop

ABU DHABI (AFP) – Christmas came in extravagant fashion to the Muslim desert emirate of Abu Dhabi as a glitzy hotel unveiled a bejewelled Christmas tree valued at more than 11 million dollars on Wednesday.
It is the "most expensive Christmas tree ever," with a "value of over 11 million dollars," said Hans Olbertz, general manager of Emirates Palace hotel, at its inauguration.

The 13-metre (40-foot) faux evergreen, located in the gold leaf-bedecked rotunda of the hotel, is decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped ornaments and small white lights.

But the necklaces, earrings and other jewellery draped around the tree's branches are what give it a record value.

It holds a total of 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones, said Khalifa Khouri, owner of Style Gallery, which provided the jewellery.

Click image to see photos of the tree

AP/Hussein Malla

"The tree itself is about 10,000 dollars," Olbertz said. "The jewellery has a value of over 11 million dollars -- I think 11.4, 11.5."

This will probably be an entry into the Guinness book of world records, Olbertz said, adding that Emirates Palace planned to contact the organisation about the tree which is to stay until the end of the year.

Asked if the tree might offend religious sensibilities in the United Arab Emirates, where the vast majority of the local population is Muslim, Olbertz said he did not think it would. "It's a very liberal country," he said.
The hotel has had a Christmas tree up in previous years, but this year "we said we have to do something different," and the hotel's marketing team hatched the plan, said Olbertz.

The tree is not the first extravagant offering from Emirates Palace -- a massive, dome-topped hotel sitting amid fountains and carefully manicured lawns.

The hotel, which bills itself as seven-star, in February introduced a package for a seven-day stay priced at one million dollars.

Takers of the package have a private butler and a chauffeur driven Maybach luxury car at their disposal during their stay, as well as a private jet available for trips to other countries in the region.

And in May, the hotel opened a gold vending machine, becoming the first place outside Germany to install "gold to go, the world's first gold vending machine," said Ex Oriente Lux AG, the German company behind the machine.

The day Niagara Falls ran dry: Newly-discovered photos show the moment the iconic waterfall came to a standstill

By Graham Smith

It's taken 41 years, but a previously unseen set of photos of the mighty Niagara Falls reduced to nothing more than a barren cliff-top have finally surfaced.
The stark images reveal North America's iconic - and most powerful - waterfall to be almost as dry as a desert.
In June 1969, U.S. engineers diverted the flow of the Niagara River away from the American side of the falls for several months.
Scroll down for video

Stark: A completely dry Niagara Falls has never been seen before or since the six months in July 1969 when U.S. engineers set about restructuring the American side of the twin landmark

Mountain of rubble: This set of photos only recently came to light when Russ Glasson found them in a shoebox in his in-laws' Connecticut garage

Their plan was to remove the large
amount of loose rock from the base of the waterfall, an idea which they
eventually abandoned due to expense in November of that year.
During the interim, they studied the
riverbed and mechanically bolted and strengthened a number of faults to delay the gradual erosion of the American Falls.
The team, made up of U.S. Army Corp
of Engineers, blew up their temporary dam in November 1969 and six
million cubic feet of water once again thundered over the falls' sides every minute.



Now, after lying unseen for more than four decades, a set of images showing the eerie calm at the American Falls that year have been unearthed by a man from Connecticut.

Plan: The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers studied the riverbed and mechanically bolted and strengthened a number of faults to delay the gradual erosion of the American Falls

Historical moment: In order to stop the Niagara River running over the American Falls, engineers constructed a dam consisting of 27,800 tons of rock, stopping the water for the first time in 12,000 years

Russ Glasson recently stumbled
across the pictures, which were taken by his in-laws, and had been left
in an old shoebox in their garage for over four decades.
Mr Glasson said: 'My in-laws took
these pictures during the six months through June to November that the
Army was working to improve the health of the American Falls.'

Two rockslides from the plate of the falls in 1931 and 1954 had caused a large amount of rock to be collected at the base.
In
1965, reporters at local newspaper Niagara Falls Gazette revealed that
the America Falls would eventually cease to flow and stop altogether if
the rocks were not removed.
Four years later, the U.S. Army Corp
of Engineers were charged with de-watering the falls to clean the river
bed and to remove any loose rock at the bottom of the falls.

Gradual deterioration: Two rockslides from the plate of the falls in 1931 and 1954 had caused a large amount of rock to be collected at the base

Eerie calm: The temporary dam can be seen in the top-right of this photograph

Thunderous: The American Falls as they normally appear, with millions of gallons of water hurtling over the edge every minute

To achieve this the army had to
build a 600ft dam across the Niagara River, which meant that 60,000
gallons of water that flowed ever second was diverted over the larger
Horseshoe Falls which flow entirely on the Canadian side of the border.
The
dam itself consisted of 27,800 tons of rock, and on June 12, 1969,
after flowing continuously for over 12,000 years, the American Falls
stopped.
Over the course of the next six months thousands of visitors flocked to the falls to witness the historic occasion.
Once
the engineers had removed the collected rocks from the falls base and
made geological testing to make safe the rest, the falls were
re-watered on November 25 in front of 2,650 onlookers.

Tourist hotspot: The Maid Of The Mist cruise boat journeys near to the Canadian Falls. The American Falls can be seen in the distance on the left

Van Damme Friday : Part man Part Machine

The Carol of the Bells Played on iPads

For Christmas this year the folks at North Point Community Church in Georgia wanted to mix things up a bit. Using borrowed iPhones and iPads, they formed an “iBand” and performed the traditional bell choir song “The Carol of the Bells” using only the Apple devices. Merry iChristmas!
The apps used for the performance included: SoundGrid, NLogFree, Melody Bell, Guitarist (Nylon String), iGog (MoreVox Acoustic 1 sound, drums), Bassist (bass), Guitarist (Electric)

North Point’s iBand from North Point Web on Vimeo.

Stem cell transplant has cured HIV infection in 'Berlin patient', say doctors

Keith Alcorn

From:  http://www.aidsmap.com/

Timothy Ray Brown gave an interview to German magazine Stern.

Jump to

• The case history
• The Berlin patient speaks to the press
• Implications for future approaches to curing HIV infection
• Reference

Doctors who carried out a stem cell transplant on an HIV-infected man with leukaemia in 2007 say they now believe the man to have been cured of HIV infection as a result of the treatment, which introduced stem cells which happened to be resistant to HIV infection.
The man received bone marrow from a donor who had natural resistance to HIV infection; this was due to a genetic profile which led to the CCR5 co-receptor being absent from his cells. The most common variety of HIV uses CCR5 as its ‘docking station’, attaching to it in order to enter and infect CD4 cells, and people with this mutation are almost completely protected against infection.
The case was first reported at the 2008 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston, and Berlin doctors subsequently published a detailed case history in the New England Journal of Medicine in February 2009.
They have now published a follow-up report in the journal Blood, arguing that based on the results of extensive tests, “It is reasonable to conclude that cure of HIV infection has been achieved in this patient.”

The case history

The 'Berlin patient' is an HIV-positive man who developed acute myeloid leukaemia, received successful treatment and subsequently experienced a relapse in 2007 that required a transplant of stem cells.
Doctors chose stem cells from an individual who had an unusual genetic profile: a mutation inherited from both parents that resulted in CD4 cells that lacked the CCR5 receptor. This mutation, called CCR5 delta 32 homozygosity, is present in less than 1% of Caucasians in northern and western Europe, and is associated with a reduced risk of becoming infected with HIV.
This is because all new infecting viruses need to use the CCR5 receptor on CD4 cells when infecting an immune system cell of the CD4 type.
Later in the course of HIV infection another type of virus emerges that can use the CXCR4 receptor instead.
Before the stem cell transplant the patient received chemotherapy treatment that destroyed most immune cells and total body irradiation, and also received immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection of the stem cells.
Antiretroviral therapy was halted on the day of the transplant, and the patient had to receive a second stem cell transplant 13 days after the first one, due to a further relapse of leukaemia.
The patient continued to receive immunosuppressive treatment to prevent rejection for 38 months, and at 5, 24 and 29 months post-transplant colon biopsies were taken to investigate possible graft-versus-host disease in the intestine. At each investigation additional samples were taken to check for signs of HIV infection in the abundant immune cells of the gut wall.
During the 38 month follow-up period the donor CD4 cells repopulated the mucosal immune system of the gut, to such an extent that the frequency of CD4 cells was almost twice as high as in HIV-negative healthy controls, and this phenomenon was also seen in a control group of ten HIV-negative individuals who received stem cell transfers.
The repopulation of CD4 cells was accompanied by the complete disappearance of host CD4 cells, and after two years the patient had the CD4 count of a healthy adult of the same age.
One of the challenges for any approach to curing HIV infection is long-lived immune system cells, which need to be cleared before a patient can be cured. In the case of the Berlin patient CCR5-bearing macrophages could not be detected after 38 months, suggesting that chemotherapy had destroyed these longer-lived cells, and that they had also been replaced by donor cells.

The German researchers and San Francisco-based immunologist Professor Jay Levy believe that the findings point to the importance of suppressing the production of CCR5-bearing cells, either through transplants or gene therapy.

The patient did not resume antiretroviral therapy after the transplant.
Nevertheless HIV remained undetectable by both viral load testing (RNA) and tests for viral DNA within cells, and HIV antibody levels declined to the point that the patient has no antibody reactivity to HIV core antibodies, and only very low levels of antibodies to the HIV envelope proteins.
Seventeen months after the transplant the patient developed a neurological condition, which required a brain biopsy and lumbar puncture to sample the cerebrospinal fluid for diagnostic purposes. HIV was also undetectable in the brain and the CSF.
An additional indication that HIV is not present lies in the fact that the patient’s CD4 cells are vulnerable to infection with virus that targets the CXCR4 receptor. If any virus with this preference was still present, the researchers argue, it would be able to swiftly infect the large population of memory CD4 cells that has emerged.

The Berlin patient speaks to the press

The `Berlin patient`, Timothy Ray Brown, a US citizen who lives in Berlin, was interviewed this week by German news magazine Stern.
His course of treatment for leukaemia was gruelling and lengthy. Brown suffered two relapses and underwent two stem cell transplants, as well as a serious neurological disorder that flared up when he seemed to be on the road to recovery.
The neurological problem led to temporary blindness and memory problems. Brown is still undergoing physiotherapy to help restore his coordination and gait, as well as speech therapy.
Friends have noticed a personality change too: he is much more blunt, possibly a disinhibition that is related to the neurological problems.
On being asked if it would have been better to live with HIV than to have beaten it in this way he says “Perhaps. Perhaps it would have been better, but I don’t ask those sorts of questions anymore.”
Timothy Brown is now considering a move from Berlin to Barcelona or San Francisco, and, reports Stern magazine, enjoying a drink and a cigarette.
Stern also interviewed Dr Gero Hütter, who was in charge of Timothy Brown’s treatment. Dr Hütter told Stern that as a scientist he was “in the right place, at the right time” and that “for me it is important to have overthrown the dogma that HIV can never be cured. Something like this is the greatest thing one can achieve in medical research”.

Implications for future approaches to curing HIV infection

If a cure has been achieved in this patient, it points the way towards attempts to develop a cure for HIV infection through genetically engineered stem cells.
The German researchers and San Francisco-based immunologist Professor Jay Levy believe that the findings point to the importance of suppressing the production of CCR5-bearing cells, either through transplants or gene therapy.
Scientists were sufficiently intrigued by the Berlin patient that they met in Berlin in 2009 to discuss how they could coordinate efforts to identify CCR5-delta32 homozygous donors and expand the supply of stem cells from these donors, for example through sampling blood cells from the umbilical cord of babies born to mothers who are homozygous for CCR5-delta32, in order to eventually facilitate stem-cell therapy.
Gene therapy techniques which can transform stem cells – and all their descendents – into cells resistant to HIV entry may be a more practical option than looking for matching donors.
Several US research groups announced in October 2009 that they had received funding to explore techniques for engineering and introducing CCR5-deficient stem cells.
If these approaches prove successful they will be expensive, so in the early stages it is likely that they would be reserved for people with no remaining treatment options or a cancer requiring bone marrow or stem cell transfer.
As Timothy Brown’s experience shows, curing HIV infection through ablative chemotherapy, immunosuppressive drugs and stem cell transfer is not a course of treatment for the faint-hearted. It has required courage, determination and a lot of support to become the first person to be pronounced `cured` of HIV infection.

Reference

Allers K et al. Evidence for the cure of HIV infection by CCR5Δ32/ Δ32 stem cell transplantation. Blood, advance online publication December 8, 2010.
Hutter G et al. Transplantation of selected or transgenic blood stem cells – a future treatment for HIV/AIDS. J Int AIDS Soc 12: 10, 2009.
Hutter G et al. Long-term control of HIV by CCR5 CCR5Δ32/ Δ32 stem-cell transplantation. N Engl J Med. 360: 692-8, 2009.
Thanks to Greta Hughson for translation.
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Liam Neeson Confirmed for Taken 2, TV Series on the Way

By Krystal Clark
From  http://screencrave.com/



Liam Neeson has been all about action films ever since Taken debuted in theaters early last year. It was a sleeper hit, and became somewhat of a cult phenomenon. He followed that performance with Zeus from Clash of the Titans and Hannibal in The A-Team, now he’s returning to his vengeful roots in the sequel Taken 2. Yes, it is happening.


According to Deadline, Neeson will begin production on Taken 2 this spring. They also revealed that writer Luc Besson and the production company EuropaCorp have plans to bring Taken to the small screen. In terms of the timeline, it would follow the events that occur in the sequel. Does this mean that we can expect week after week of random kidnappings followed by extreme beatings and shoot-outs?

Speaking of shootouts, another action flick known for its gun play will also be turned into a TV series. The Transporter franchise, which solidified Jason Statham as a one-man ass kicking machine is a possible candidate. With the success of shows like “Nikita” it seems that renegade assassins and vigilantes are all the rage.

The Transporter will cost about $48 million and the series run will consist of 12 episodes. Production will start early next year and the first episodes will be delivered in November. Who will star as the lead in this and Taken? We’re not sure but we’ll let you know when we find out.

What Can $150k Buy in Real Estate Around the World?

Written by David Miller 

From: http://matadornetwork.com/

With the global credit crunch spiraling into an economic crisis, here’s what $150k can buy you right now around the world.

Argentina: Centro, Buenos Aires

USD Price: $149,000
Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1
Notes / Link: This place is fully remodeled and right in El Centro, 2 blocks from Teatro Colon.

Chile: Villarrica, Region 9

USD Price: $110,000
Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 3
Notes / Link: This house is in the town of Villarrica, and has world-class backcountry terrain all around.

Russia: Chystye Prudy Area, Moscow

USD Price: $152,000 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 2
Notes / Link: Right in the center of Moscow.

South Africa: Jeffrey’s Bay, Eastern Cape

USD Price: $152,200 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 3
Notes / Link: This pad has a barbecue, garden, and you’re close to one of the sickest surf spots in the world.

Australia: Deniliquin, New South Wales

USD Price: $144,400 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 3
Notes / Links A full on 27-acre farm near thetown of Deniliquin. Extremely affordable Australian home loans are also available.

Portugal: Evora, Alentejo

USD Price: $150,500 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1
Notes / Link: in sweet village of Viana do Alentejo.

Indonesia: Lovina, Bali

USD Price: $107,000 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 2
Notes / Link: A straight-up private villa on Bali with mature palms / banana trees and some kind of ‘split level swimming pool’. Ridiculous.

Croatia: Porec, Istria

USD Price: $150,700 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2
Notes / Link: A 3-bedroom apartment with beach only 3 minutes away, along with the yacht marine of Cervar village.

Czech Republic: Prosek, Prague

USD Price: $144,000 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1
Notes / Link: A newly renovated apartment with 74 m2 of living space and a 6-minute commute via subway to the city center.

New Zealand: Foxton

USD Price: $125,500 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 2