Brett Ratner resigns as Academy Awards producer

FILE - In this June 6, 2010 file photo, Director Brett Ratner arrives at the MTV Movie Awards in Universal City, Calif. Ratner is sorry for using a gay slur during a question-and-answer session at a screening for his new film. Ratner, who is set to produce next year's Academy Awards, issued a statement Monday, Nov. 7, 2011 apologizing ?for any offense my remarks caused.? (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - In this June 6, 2010 file photo, Director Brett Ratner arrives at the MTV Movie Awards in Universal City, Calif. Ratner is sorry for using a gay slur during a question-and-answer session at a screening for his new film. Ratner, who is set to produce next year's Academy Awards, issued a statement Monday, Nov. 7, 2011 apologizing ?for any offense my remarks caused.? (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Brett Ratner resigned Tuesday as producer of next year's Academy Awards, one day after apologizing for using a gay slur at a screening of his latest film.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed Ratner's departure. President Tom Sherak said in a statement that the 42-year-old filmmaker "did the right thing for the academy and for himself."

"Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable," Sherak said.

Ratner used a pejorative term for gay men during a question-and-answer session at a screening of his film "Tower Heist." He also discussed his sexual exploits on a recent episode of "The Howard Stern Show."

Ratner issued a lengthy statement Tuesday apologizing for his behavior and explaining his resignation as producer of the 2012 Oscar telecast. The academy had announced in August that Ratner would produce the show with TV veteran Don Mischer, who helmed the 2011 broadcast.

In a letter beginning, "Dear Colleagues," Ratner apologized for "the hurtful and stupid things I said in a number of recent media appearances."

"As difficult as the last few days have been for me, they cannot compare to the experience of any young man or woman who has been the target of offensive slurs or derogatory comments," he said.

Ratner went on to say that he is "taking real action over the coming weeks and months in an effort to do everything I can both professionally and personally to help stamp out the kind of thoughtless bigotry I've so foolishly perpetrated."

The director, whose credits also include the "Rush Hour" films, said that being asked to produce the Oscar show "was the proudest moment of my career," but he didn't want to distract from the academy "and the high ideals it represents."

Ratner thanked the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation "for engaging me in a dialogue about what we can do together to increase awareness of the important and troubling issues this episode has raised."

GLAAD said Tuesday that it was working with Ratner to arrange public discussions with those in the entertainment industry about fair portrayals of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in film and television.

"Hollywood has the power and responsibility to grow acceptance of all communities," said GLAAD Acting President Mike Thompson. "We look forward to working with Brett and the industry in promoting positive, culture-changing images of our community and sending a message that such slurs, used to belittle gay and lesbian youth and adults every day, have no place in mainstream popular culture or the industry that creates it."

There was no word on whether Ratner will be replaced.

___

Online:

http://www.oscars.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-11-08-People-Brett%20Ratner/id-621935c119514d5fa034606522dbdcb5

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'Cyborg yeast' run by a computer

6 November 2011 Last updated at 14:02 ET By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News

Scientists have succeeded in forming a "feedback loop" between a computer and a common yeast to precisely control the switching on and off of specific genes.

The computer controlled flashes of light to start and stop this gene expression, "learning" how to reach and maintain a set value.

The groundbreaking approach could find use in future efforts to control biological processes, such as the production of biofuel from microbes.

It appears in Nature Biotechnology.

The approach is a comparatively simple means to take control of fantastically complex biochemical processes to achieve a desired result.

"The neat thing about this is that there are many people who have tried to do things like this by, for example, coding in the cell itself a synthetic circuit, putting genes and mechanisms in the cell," said senior author John Lygeros, of the Automatic Control Laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich.

"That's had limited success up to now."

Prof Lygeros and his colleagues started with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae - a well-studied strain of yeast familiar since ancient times in brewing and baking.

A study in the same journal in 2002 found that when S. cerevisiae is exposed to light, a molecule called phytochrome within it can switch forms; red light converts it to an "active form" and a deeper red converts it back.

The activity of the phytochrome can start or stop the genetic machinery that results in the production of a given protein.

The team used this trick to ensure that when the yeast was producing that protein - corresponding to the gene being switched on - it could be tracked by using a "reporter" molecule that itself gives off light in a process called fluorescence.

In that way, the team had a full loop of control: upon shining red light in, they could track how much a population of yeast cells was expressing the gene, and apply the deeper red to curb that gene expression.

Better behaviour

The process is not simply an on-off switch, Prof Lygeros explained.

"Experimentally, it s a fairly challenging thing to do," he told BBC News.

"The fluorescence is not the only thing - there are half a dozen chemical reactions involved in this process."

The team developed a computer model to track how long each burst of light should take to precisely maintain a given amount of gene expression, allowing it to control the light tightly in a feedback loop.

The work adds to a growing amount of scientific literature in which the delicate machinery within life can be bent to the will of experimenters.

Most recently, researchers at the University of San Francisco showed that a substantially similar approach could direct a prescribed amount of a protein to the cell wall.

Their findings should help us better understand cell signalling - the chemical messages that cells share as they co-operate within an organism.

Such methods are helping to complement time-honoured but labour-intensive genetic trickery to accomplish similar goals, Prof Lygeros explained.

"It's quite difficult to engineer synthetic circuits that do something robustly in the cell, and the hope is that by augmenting this with external signals, you can get them to behave better," he said.

"That for example may have applications in biofuel production, or antibiotic production, where they use genetically engineered organisms to increase the yields of reactions."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-15598887

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Apple Store iOS app adds in-store purchasing, we go hands-on (video)

If you've been to an Apple Store recently, you're probably familiar with EasyPay -- Apple's not-always-so-easy handheld checkout system that enables employees to process transactions on the floor, sending a receipt to your inbox. Well the latest Apple Store iOS app eliminates the middleman -- those t-shirt and jeans-sporting retail employees -- letting you process the transaction on your own iPhone 4 or 4S, completely eliminating any need for human interaction. The tool is currently limited to accessories, so you won't be able to pick up an iPad, "scan" it with your phone, and walk out of the store. What's unclear is how Apple will prevent dishonest folks from shoplifting, since your iPhone lacks the ability to spit out those nifty white shoulder bags or blue purchase stickers.

We took the app for a spin, running up a $107.79 tab with an Airport Express. As expected, checking out is painfully simple -- after you launch the app from within a store, a popup window gives you the option for EasyPay. You then hover over the item's barcode using the iPhone's camera, and click through to complete your purchase using the default credit card from your iTunes account. We then walked right out the front door with our purchased Airport in hand. You'll still need to head to the registers to return an item, however, which we were able to do within minutes of making our purchase. Jump past the break to see how it works.

Gallery: Apple Store iOS app in-store purchase hands-on

Continue reading Apple Store iOS app adds in-store purchasing, we go hands-on (video)

Apple Store iOS app adds in-store purchasing, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/08/apple-store-ios-app-adds-in-store-purchasing-we-go-hands-on-vi/

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Justin Bieber to take paternity test on baby claim (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Justin Bieber will take a paternity test to counter claims that he fathered a baby boy with a young California woman after a brief backstage encounter last year, a source close to the singer said on Monday.

The Canadian singer also is contemplating legal action against the woman for defamation, his spokesman said.

Bieber, 17, spent much of last week denying the claims made by Mariah Yeater, 20, in a paternity lawsuit filed in San Diego, saying he had never met her. Yeater gave birth to a baby in July that she claimed was the result of having sex in a backstage bathroom with Bieber after a Los Angeles concert in 2010.

"Justin's team chose to proactively make arrangements for him to take a DNA test to put this to rest when he gets back from Europe," a source close to the singer said.

Yeater asked for a paternity test and is seeking child support in her lawsuit.

"It's sad that someone would fabricate malicious, defamatory, and demonstrably false claims," a spokesman for the singer added.

"We'll vigorously pursue all available legal remedies to protect Justin and to hold those involved with bringing this suit accountable for their actions," he added

Teen heartthrob Bieber won award for best pop act and top male singer at the MTV Europe awards in Belfast on Sunday in a show hosted by his Disney Channel star girlfriend Selena Gomez.

He is expected to return to the United States from Europe in about two weeks time.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111107/music_nm/us_justinbieber

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[OOC] Uncharted Territory

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"Her hands, however, were not beautiful--perhaps a shade too red and a little hard in the fingers. She herself was too tall, and her figure lacked the soft, caressing outline. Her good point was her eyes. They were dark, but her long lashes made them seem black, and she looked at you frankly, with a sort of fearless candour."
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Diners, gun shops, a state fair: GOP candidates hit perennial hot spots in early voting states (Star Tribune)

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Union meets, says more talks with NBA owners ahead (AP)

NEW YORK ? NBA players and owners will start negotiating again Saturday, and the union's leaders say they're unified as they seek to resolve the lockout.

President Derek Fisher, executive director Billy Hunter and executive committee members said after meeting for about three hours Thursday that there was no truth to reports of a rift among them.

"We've had no problems, and that's the reality," Hunter said.

Hunter said they spent no more than 10-15 minutes total on a conference call earlier this week and during Thursday's gathering discussing the reports questioning Fisher's allegiances.

"The battle is not within our union," Bucks guard Keyon Dooling said. "Derek Fisher's the best president our union has ever seen. We'll stand as committee members ? I'm the first vice president and I stand behind him."

Later Thursday came reports that a group of about 50 disgruntled players held a conference call with an antitrust lawyer about the possibility of pursuing decertification of the union. Yahoo! Sports and The New York Times reported that the players would consider pursuing the tactic if union leaders made more concessions in negotiations.

Thirty percent of players would have to sign a petition, then a majority would have to vote in favor for decertification. Mere talk of decertification also could give the players' side leverage in negotiations.

Owners and players haven't met since talks broke off last Friday. Hunter said federal mediator George Cohen contacted him earlier this week about possibly rejoining the negotiations. The conversation led to Hunter calling Commissioner David Stern on Wednesday about resuming talks, though it has yet to be determined whether Cohen will be involved.

Hunter said union leaders had spent the last several days cautioning players that the two sides were still far apart on several system issues, so completing a deal was not as simple as a compromise on the revenue split.

"Our guys are in a position of they still want us to negotiate a fair deal," Fisher said. "They've given us that power. They've given us that support.

"Obviously, we're going to have individual members in individual sets of circumstances that want to get back to play. We want to get back to play. But we realize the ramifications of agreeing to a bad deal at this moment. ... This particular collective bargaining agreement will forever impact the circumstances of NBA basketball players. We can't rush into a deal we feel is a bad deal just to save this season."

The lockout, which began July 1, has already led to the cancellation of a month of regular-season games. The two sides met for three days last week, but again the talks stalled when they turned to the revenue split.

They'll get back at it Saturday, though neither side seems to be shifting its stance.

"It's not wise or prudent for us to not meet or let huge gaps of time go by and let the clock run and not meet, because then we just become more entrenched in our respective positions," Hunter said. "At least if we're around the table something might happen; I can't predict if anything will."

Hunter said he told Fisher after negotiations broke down Friday: "You will see the kind of friend I have been and will continue to be."

___

Follow Rachel Cohen at http://twitter.com/RachelCohenAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111104/ap_on_sp_bk_ne/bkn_nba_labor

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