Category: News

TransUnion released its annual auto loan forecast today indicating national auto loan delinquencies (the ratio of borrowers 60 or more days past due) will increase approximately 7 percent at the end of 2010 to 0.92 percent from an expected 0.86 percent at the conclusion of 2009.

Only one state – California – is expected to see a decline in auto loan delinquencies by the end of 2010. The state’s auto delinquency levels should decrease 3.55 percent from approximately 1.40 percent to 1.35 percent.

“Our forecast indicates we will see auto loan delinquencies drop in the first and second quarters of 2010 due to many factors such as ‘cash for clunkers’ and tightening lending standards,” said Peter Turek, automotive vice president in TransUnion’s financial services group.

“Delinquencies will rise in the second half of 2010 as economic pressures, along with traditional spending patterns of summer vacations, back to school and the holidays, will continue to strain consumers. While the rate of increase should be relatively mild, it is a cautionary number to those expecting an abrupt turnaround in the auto finance industry.”

The expected increase will be the fifth straight year the nation’s 60-day auto loan delinquency rate will have either remained the same or increased from the previous year. Between 2004 and 2005 the nation’s delinquency rate dropped 4.35 percent from 0.69 percent to 0.66 percent.

In addition, the first half decrease in delinquency rates followed by a second half in the year increase also is consistent with the cyclical pattern of previous years, with a new baseline being set with each yearly increase.

Areas in the country expected to experience the highest year-over-year auto delinquency increases include the Midwest and Southeast. Indiana (27.23 percent), Michigan (26.74), Kentucky (22.31) and Georgia (18.71) are among the states expected to see the greatest spikes in auto delinquency.

In addition to California, other parts of the country that have been hit hard by the mortgage crisis look to be slowly improving their credit picture on the auto side as many auto loans reach maturity. Both Florida (4.55 percent increase expected) and Nevada (4.05 percent increase) are among the top 10 states expected to see the least amount of increase in auto loan delinquencies.

At the conclusion of 2010, Mississippi (1.76 percent), Georgia (1.46 percent) and Alabama (1.40 percent) are expected to have the highest auto loan delinquency rates.

The District of Columbia (0.34 percent), North Dakota (0.39 percent) and South Dakota (0.45) should have the lowest delinquency rates during that same time period.

Current auto loan delinquency data for each state and the nation can be found at transunion.com/trenddata.

TransUnion’s Trend Data database

The source of the underlying data used for this analysis is TransUnion’s Trend Data, a one-of-a-kind database consisting of 27 million anonymous consumer records randomly sampled every quarter from TransUnion’s national consumer credit database.

Each record contains more than 200 credit variables that illustrate consumer credit usage and performance.

Since 1992, TransUnion has been aggregating this information at the county, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), state and national levels.

For more information, please visit transunion.com/trenddata.

About TransUnion

As a global leader in credit and information management, TransUnion creates advantages for millions of people around the world by gathering, analyzing and delivering information.

For businesses, TransUnion helps improve efficiency, manage risk, reduce costs and increase revenue by delivering comprehensive data and advanced analytics and decisioning.

For consumers, TransUnion provides the tools, resources and education to help manage their credit health and achieve their financial goals.

Through these and other efforts, TransUnion is working to build stronger economies worldwide. Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Chicago, TransUnion employs associates in more than 25 countries on five continents.

For more information, please visit transunion.com/business.

Filed under: Truck, Etc., Videos, Work, Humor

Large vehicles like dump trucks travel across oceans, rivers and seas on boats all the time. But typically, the craft that hauls the truck is quite a bit bigger than than the dirt hauler itself. That’s just not how they roll in Haiti, though, as evidenced by some amazing footage of workers attempting to drive a massive multi-ton dump truck onto a run-of-the-mill sailboat. The dump truck on small sail boat doesn’t pass the look test, as the truck appears to be longer than the boat is wide, but that evidently doesn’t stop the workers from giving it a go.

Hit the jump to see if the Little Sailboat That Could can, in fact, handle the massive weight of an industrial dump truck. At one point, it appears that the truck’s rear wheels actually spin on top of the sail boat’s hull while trying to come aboard. We just can’t imagine being the first person to try this, but we sure don’t mind watching. Click through to the jump to see if the crew is successful at this impromptu tourist attraction or if they end up with a different sort of commercial dump.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: How to load a commercial dump truck onto a sailboat?

Video: How to load a commercial dump truck onto a sailboat? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Infinia is LG’s new generation of LED LCD TVs, and the 55-inch LE9500 is its flagship. It’s the first LG display to be equipped for 3D, and features measurements Heidi Klum would envy. You know, if she were a TV.

With a cabinet depth of just .92 inches and an 8.5mm bezel, the LE9500 is a full LED TV with the thinness you’d normally expect from an edge-lit model. The 55-inch display supports local dimming of up to 240 addressable segments, while the Infinia LE7500 and LE5500 each offer 16 addressable segments.

LG is introducing six new LED LCD series in all: the Infinia LE9500, LE8500 and LE7500, along with the LE5500, LE5400, and LE5300. All of the series are 1080p, with the exception of the LE5300 models under 32″, and most come equipped with NetCast Entertainment Access, LG’s connectivity suite that’s been upgraded this year to include Skype and DivX TV. The LE9500 has an ambitious refresh rate of 480Hz, the LE8500 at 240Hz, and the rest of the lineup sits at a more conventional 120Hz.

For those who aren’t ready to make the jump to LED yet, LG is also refreshing its CCFL LCD line with five new series that also feature 1080p and refresh rates of up to 240Hz.

LG has announced pricing yet on either the LED or LCD sets, but they should be hitting retailers this spring/summer.

LG ELECTRONICS REDEFINES HOME ENTERTAINMENT EXPECTATIONS WITH BROAD LINE OF STUNNING, SLIM LED AND LCD HDTVs

New LED Technology Combined with Local Dimming

Enhances Picture Quality, Black Levels and Utilizes Less Power

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2010 – INFINIA, an innovative new family of LED LCD HDTVs from LG Electronics that delivers “freedom through infinite possibilities,” highlights the company’s 2010 lineup of LED LCD HDTVs introduced here today at the International Consumer Electronics Show (Booth #8205).

LG INFINIA HDTVs (the LE9500, LE8500 and LE7500 series) combine a slim design and thin bezel with enhanced connectivity and abundant content options. Leading the way to the ultimate home entertainment experience, the 55- and 47-inch class* LE9500 sets will be LG’s first 3D-ready models available in the United States.

INFINIA is the flagship of LG’s 41-model LED LCD HDTV line – six new series of LED LCD HDTVs and five new series of LCD HDTVs. Leading these introductions are two new LED technologies – Full LED Slim and LED Plus – that provide cutting-edge picture quality. The unique backlight structure on its Full LED Slim models (LE9500 and LE8500) allows for the INFINIA line’s ultra-slim depth without sacrificing picture quality. Together, these features provide consumers with infinite possibilities in home entertainment.

“We’re removing barriers to entertainment with very slim LED LCD TVs that couple wireless connectivity with the most access to online content,” said Peter Reiner, senior vice president, marketing, LG Electronics USA. “With seamless connectivity and limitless content, LG INFINIA is resetting the standards for design and entertainment as LED LCD TVs are expected to grow to more than 20 percent of the market this year.”

“Consumers will no longer have to compromise on picture quality in order to enjoy an ultra-slim design. Together this new Full LED Slim technology and our wireless connectivity options allow consumers to ‘live borderless’ with the ultimate in content access and convenient installation,” Reiner added.

LG’s new Full LED Slim technology elevates picture quality with a slim LED structure that supports detailed local dimming of up to 240 addressable segments (on the 55-inch class LE9500), resulting in an HDTV that provides the deeper black levels and uniform picture quality which typically could not be achieved on an ultra-thin set.

The LE9500 series cabinet depth is only .92 inches with a bezel width of only 8.5mm. LG’s LED Plus technology (available on the LE7500 and LE5500 series), also improves picture quality and energy efficiency by adding a basic local dimming capability of up to 16 addressable segments.

The LE9500, LE8500 and LE7500 were all recognized with CES 2010 Innovations Awards, including the “Best of Innovations” distinction in the Online Audio/Video Content category for the LE9500.

Shattering Expectations

Broadening consumer entertainment options, LG’s latest series of HDTVs affords consumers superior picture quality, advanced energy saving options and flexible access to content-on-demand. LG’s LED LCD HDTVs challenge consumers’ current perceptions of home entertainment by illustrating what’s possible with superior display technology.

LG’s Full LED Slim series (models LE9500 and LE8500) for example, join an elite group of LED LCD HDTVs that have achieved THX Display Certification* – the industry standard for having the correct gamma, luminance, and color temperature. This certification demonstrates that select series of LG HDTVs can recreate the cinema experience at home, making the picture resemble movie theatre quality. To date, LG is the only manufacturer who has attained this designation for LCD TV in the U.S. market.

LG’s exclusive Full LED Slim technology includes detailed local dimming capability, but also enables the LE9500 and LE8500 to achieve a slim depth usually limited to conventional edge-lit models. This unique technology makes it possible for these two models to achieve the picture quality worthy of THX Display Certification and helps minimize the front bezel of the TV. This works with the single, edge-to-edge panel of glass to create a design, perfect for any home environment. Boasting a thin bezel of only 8.5mm, the LE9500 brings advanced technology into the home without being obtrusive. Available in 55-and 47-inch class sizes*, this series also incorporates TruMotion 480Hz for reduced motion blur during fast moving action sequences.

Connectivity

LG’s full line of LED LCD HDTVs ― series LE9500, LE8500, LE7500, LE5500 and LE5400 (in screen sizes 32-inch class and above) ― boast a connectivity package with a variety of entertainment options, including NetCast Entertainment Access™. With NetCast, consumers can access the following content sites for an almost endless array of entertainment options**:

o Skype™: Newly added in 2010, this allows consumers to make free video and voice calls over the Internet to family members and friends (separate camera and other equipment needed).
o Netflix™: Updated with Netflix 2.0, consumers can stream thousands of movies without a PC.
o VUDU™: Allows consumers to instantly buy or rent from an extensive library of movies and TV titles, including a catalog of more than 3,000 high-definition movies – with no monthly fees or additional hardware.
o YouTube™: Offers the ability to instantly stream millions of Web videos directly from the Internet (without a personal computer).
o Napster™: Now Napster subscribers can enjoy unlimited on-demand streaming music from millions of songs on their NetCast TV.
o Yahoo! Widgets™: Enables access to various applications called TV Widgets that allow viewers to interact with popular Internet services and online media through applications specifically tailored to the needs of the watcher, such as up-to-the minute Yahoo! News, Weather and Finance, and new widgets, including CBS, Showtime and CNBC.

LG also has incorporated the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) technology across the full line of LED models. DLNA allows consumers to access content stored on other DLNA-certified devices within the home, such as computers, making content options almost limitless.

Providing easy options for connecting to the Internet, in addition to the wired Ethernet jack, all NetCast-enabled sets can integrate into a wireless home network by using a USB wireless broadband adaptor (sold separately). All models with NetCast also support multi-media playback from a connected USB device including photos (JPEG), music (MP3) and video (DivX HD).

For greater convenience and flexibility in setup and installation, all HDTV series with NetCast also offer wireless Full HD 1080p wireless transmission from a “Wireless Media Hub” from up to 98 feet. Connecting source components, such as Blu-ray players, cable or satellite boxes and video games to the media hub enables transmission to a compact receiver adaptor, which attaches to the back of the TV, hidden from view. This eliminates the need for individual components to be connected directly to the TV, making for a clean and easy installation and removal of the unsightly wires (Media Hub and receiver adaptor sold separately as a package).

Controls

LG’s LE9500 incorporates a unique “Magic Wand” remote system that provides an immersive interaction with the set. This “Magic” user interface brings together menus, component controls and even embedded games, which can be accessed using a simple remote that combines minimal buttons and gestures to control the on-screen activity, mirroring a “Wii-like” experience.

Energy Savings

Understanding consumers’ desire for products that reduce their household energy costs, most of LG’s LED and CCFL HDTVs have a variety of energy-saving features, such as Intelligent Sensor, to automatically calibrate and optimize brightness, contrast, white balance and color, based on the ambient light in the room, saving on energy output under most circumstances. Additionally, ISFccc calibration options allow consumers to work with a professional to set “day” and “night” levels for optimal viewing and brightness levels. All of LG’s 2010 LED LCD series also qualify for ENERGY STAR® 4.0 certification.

In total, LG unveiled six new series of LED LCD HDTV models for consumers – creating a robust HDTV line up of advanced picture quality, wireless technology and diverse screen sizes. Full details on the series are below:

INFINIA LE9500 Series (47-, and 55-inch class sizes*) – Full HD 1080p HDTV features uni-layer design with ultra-slim (8.5MM) bezel, Full Slim LED technology with Local Dimming, TruMotion 480Hz and THX Display Certification. Also includes NetCast Entertainment Access, DLNA, wireless broadband ready capabilities, wireless HD ready and 2 USB ports.

INFINIA LE8500 Series (47-, and 55-inch class sizes*) – Includes all the same features of the LE9500 with the exception of the 8.5mm bezel and the Magic Wand remote control. It also features TruMotion 240Hz technology.

INFINIA LE7500 Series (42-, 47-, and 55-inch class sizes*) – Provides consumers with a Full HD 1080p experience, TruMotion 120Hz, and LED Plus technology for local dimming capability. With NetCast Entertainment Access, Wireless HD Technology content is easier to access than ever before without the fuss of too many cords.

LE5500 Series (22-, 26-, 42-, 47-, 55-inch class sizes*) – Includes TruMotion 120Hz, LED Plus Technology, and NetCast Entertainment Access. (Except 22- and 26-inch class sizes)

LE5400 Series (32-, 42-, 47, 55, 60-inch class sizes*) – Full HD 1080p HDTV series includes LED lighting, TruMotion 120Hz, NetCast Entertainment Access, Wi-Fi ready and two USB ports.

LE5300 Series (19-, 22-, 26-, 32-, 37-inch class sizes*) – Brings the slim profile of LED technology to smaller screen sizes. Thirty-two and 37-inch class sizes are Full HD 1080p and feature TruMotion 120Hz technology, while the 19-, 22- and 26-inch class sizes provide a 720p HD picture.

Broad LCD HDTV Lines

Expanding its line of LCD HDTV options, LG also introduced five new series of CCFL LCD HDTVs, which bring consumers a variety of technology, design, and energy-saving options. These series include:

LD650 Series (47- and 55-inch class sizes*) – A Full HD 1080p HDTV, this LCD HDTV series boasts TruMotion 240Hz performance for reduced motion blur. Other features include: NetCast Entertainment Access, USB Video DLNA, and Wireless-ready technology.

LD550 Series (32-, 42-, 46-, 52-, and 60-inch class sizes*) – Also a Full HD 1080p series, these HDTVs are equipped with TruMotion 120Hz. Other features include: NetCast Entertainment Access, USB Video, DLNA, and Wireless-ready technology.

LD520 Series (32-, 42-, 47- and 55-inch class sizes*) – Combines Full HD 1080p with TruMotion 120Hz performance with a variety of screen sizes.

LD450 Series (32-, 37-, 42-, 47-inch class sizes*) – A Full HD 1080p HDTV in a variety of sizes to fit almost any room in the home.

LD350 Series (19-, 22-, 26-, and 32-inch class sizes*) – Provides smaller screen sizes for consumers in a 720p HD model.

With class sizes ranging from 19- to 60-inches, LG’s LCD HDTV models provide a variety of flat panel options for any room in the home ― most built with LG’s four core technologies:

o Picture Wizard: Provides consumers with an easy-to-use seven-step calibration process that allows them to change picture settings without hiring an expert.
o Intelligent Sensor: Automatically calibrates and optimizes brightness, contrast, white balance and color, based on the brightness and color temperature of lighting in the room – thereby saving on energy output in most circumstances. (Excluding LD350 and LD450 series and the 19, 22, 26-inch class LE5300 models)
o Clear Voice II: An enhancement to Clear Voice, this feature customizes volume settings by 12 distinct voice zoom levels without diminishing other surrounding sounds, helping ensure consumers don’t miss a single line of dialogue during action sequences.
o AV Mode II: Includes three AV modes preset to optimize picture and sound settings based on Cinema, Sports or Game content, which can be easily set with the remote control.

Inventors at the University of Michigan have secured $11 million to launch Ann Arbor-based HistoSonics, Inc., which will develop a medical device that uses tightly focused ultrasound pulses to treat prostate disease. The company’s histotripsy technology, licensed from U-M and developed by scientists in the departments of biomedical engineering and urology, is a noninvasive, image-guided system that ablates tissue with robotic precision. While most ultrasound products currently on the market use heat to destroy unwanted tissue, histotripsy co-inventor and HistoSonics co-founder Charles Cain, PhD, and colleagues used cavitation — the production of tiny energetic bubbles — to create a surgical scalpel that liquefies tissues without heat. “The conventional wisdom was that cavitation should be avoided, but no one could tell me why,” says Cain. “I decided to study it as a possible mechanism for non-invasive surgery. It works far beyond our expectations, and many people will tell you it’s probably going to revolutionize the way ultrasound therapy is done.” The first clinical application will be treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a condition that affects more than two million men in the U.S. and results in surgery for some 400,000 BPH patients.

Source: University of Michigan News Service

The Harvard Swim School, which provides swimming and diving lessons for adults and children (ages 5 and up), will offer Saturday morning classes (March 27-May 1) at Blodgett Pool and the Malkin Athletic Center. Each session is 35 to 40 minutes. Classes will be offered at 9:30 and 10:15 a.m. (adult classes offered only at 10:15).

For more information, visit the Harvard Swim School Web site or contact Keith Miller at [email protected].

Early-stage in vitro diagnostics company Martell Biosystems is seeking approximately $3 million in venture capital to help set up shop in downtown Rochester, MN, to develop a noninvasive, DNA amplification-based blood test to diagnose breast and other types of cancer. Martell needs the funding to finalize a licensing deal for the core technology with the University of Pennsylvania, where it was developed, according to Phil Messina, the company’s president and COO. “We’ve signed a definitive term sheet with [UPenn],” Messina says. “The final licenses will be signed when we secure the capital for the company.” Martell’s core technology — fluorescent amplification catalyzed by T7 polymerase technique, or FACTT — was developed by Mark Greene, MD, PhD, John W. Eckman professor of medical science at UPenn, and Hongtao Zhang, a research assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine.

In FACTT, a capture antibody binds to an antigen of interest in a sample. A biotinylated detection antibody then binds to a non-overlapping epitope on the antigen, and streptavidin is used to link this detection antibody to a biotinylated, double-stranded DNA molecule that serves as the amplification module. Next, the amplification module is transcribed by T7 RNA polymerase, producing multiple copies of RNA from the DNA template and amplifying the signal in a linear fashion. Finally, a fluorescent dye is used to detect the amount of RNA, which is directly proportional to the amount of antigen in the original sample. Martell is billing FACTT as a more sensitive version of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, which still represent the gold standard of immunoassay-based clinical testing but are limited to nanomolar concentrations of antigen, according to the company. FACTT can detect sub-femtomolar concentrations of antigen — about 100,000 times as sensitive as ELISA, Messina says. Consequently, the technique can be used to detect exceedingly small amounts of protein in a sample and serve as the basis for noninvasive blood tests for various diseases.

“We’re starting with the HER-2 biomarker [for breast cancer], which is measured on the surface of the tumor cell but is also present in very small amounts in the blood,” Messina says. The company believes that noninvasive diagnostic tests based on FACTT will dramatically enhance the ability to detect tumors early, when treatment can be most effective. Because the presence of HER-2 is indicative of tumors that may respond to treatment with Herceptin, early and accurate detection of the biomarker could help identify HER-2-positive tumors earlier than mammography, reduce the need for invasive biopsies, improve selection of patients for Herceptin therapy, and help monitor therapeutic response to the treatment, according to Messina.

UPenn owns one published patent and several patent applications surrounding FACTT. Once the licensing deal is finalized, Martell hopes to begin developing and validating the breast cancer test, with the ultimate goal of obtaining reference lab certification from Minnesota and 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Messina says. Martell’s license with UPenn also is expected to cover veterinary applications, “so that’s a possibility,” Messina adds. “But right now we are focused on breast cancer with ovarian cancer to come next.”

Source: GenomeWeb

Calls for Britain to build more gas storage facilities came Tuesday after the National Grid warned of temporary gas shortages due to record high demands, the Guardian reports.

The cold weather-induced demand spike caused the second ever “gas balancing alert” by the National Grid, and high power firms and large industries were asked to cut back on their consumption. 

Still, a grid spokesman said there was no danger of Britain running short of gas, blaming the shortage on problems in one specific field. Although the alert was quikly lifted, critics said it underscored a dangerous weakness in the energy supply system.

A Conservative claim that Britain had only eight days worth of storage was called “alarmist” by David Hunter, an energy analyst at the McKinnon & Clarke consultants. Still, Hunter’s claim that the UK had about three weeks’ storage capacity pales in comparison to Germany, which has four months worth of supplies.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• China Entering Winter With A Severe Natural Gas Shortage

Finding licensees for your IP is a challenge in any environment, but in a recession it can seem more like waiting for lightning to strike — and about as likely. The key to sniffing out deals in a down economy, according to one IP consultant, is taking a proactive approach and increasing your odds by employing patent analytics. Matt Troyer, vice president of innovation at the full-service IP firm TAEUS International Corp., based in Colorado Springs, CO, says leveraging patent data is a key way for TTOs to identify licensing prospects for their IP portfolios. But patent analytics do have certain limitations, he acknowledges. “No. 1, they’re only going to target licensees who have patents in the particular area of your target patent. For example, you’re not going to find small start-ups that don’t have patent portfolios” but which might be interested in the IP you’re working with. “You’re also not going to find larger companies that may have patent portfolios but are conducting a ‘black hat’ or a ‘skunk works’ project” in an area they have not yet exploited. However, patent analytics are “the best place to start generating leads,” Troyer insists, because the processes are automated or semi-automated and “relatively fast.” A detailed article on effectively using patent analytics to identify prospects and target IP marketing efforts appears in the December issue of Technology Transfer Tactics. To get access to this complete article and become a subscriber, including access to the entire archive of back issues, CLICK HERE.

Former Playboy pin-up Cindy Margolis wrote the book on infertility — literally. After giving birth to her three children through in vitro fertilization and later penning the guide Having a Baby… When the Old-Fashioned Way Isn’t Working, Cindy credits herself an aficionado on baster baby-making. And she brought the idea to her new dating reality show, “Seducing Cindy,” debuting on the FOX Reality Channel Jan. 30.

The dating reality show features 25 guys 18-49 competing in a range of competitions in hopes of finding “true love” with the Guinness Book’s 1999 Most Downloaded Lady on the Internet. One challenge called for contestants to supply the blonde fortysomething with cups of their — er — sperm.

“I am the spokesperson for Resolve, the National Infertility Association, so we could get away with it. We had one competition where the guys had to go through what I went through and give a sperm sample,” Margolis told Fox Wednesday. “It was interesting to have 25 guys go off into a room and bring you back a sperm sample. Clinically, I know how to test sperm, and I tested each of the guys’ sperm on my show. It was the craziest thing.”

Financial institution GMAC is bracing itself for a huge $5 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2009 alone, despite the recent $3.79 billion received from the US Treasury. The news was confirmed by the company’s CEO, Michael Carpenter, who also added GMAC will try its best to recover and repay the money received from the government.

"We are moving forward with our principal mission: strengthening the auto finance business and transforming it into a market-driven, low-cost… (read more)

it has surfaced, the phone everyone’s talking about.
nexus one, the google phone with 480×800px touchscreen, 5m camera, 6cm autofocus, led flash, 1 GHz processor, 5 hours usage on 3G, running on android os. what’s not to love?

Some more cheery thoughts from David Rosenberg this morning, this time on the subject of price-to-rent ratios, and what the numbers mean about home prices.

As Chart 1 shows, the collapse in housing values has yet to fully mean revert
towards rental rates.  To do so would imply another 10-15% decline in
residential real estate prices, which we view as a major cloud over the 2010
economic outlook (the same holds true on a home price-to-wage basis).  A
decline of that magnitude would take the number of households who are under
water on their mortgage from 15 million (25% of the mortgage population) to 30
million (half).  

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• The New American Dream: Default On Your Mortgage, Then Rent
• Apartment Rents "Plunge" in the West
• Case-Shiller: Housing Recovery Still Weak, October Decline Of 7.3% Slightly Worse Than Forecast

British company MobilityWorks will bring several wheelchair motorcycles to the US (Akron, Ohio) to be used by paraplegic bikers. The first four arrived last week, with three more expected shortly and a total of forty-five Conquest Trikes available in the United States.

They will be distributed to a network of authorized mobility van dealers throughout the country, with manufacturing of the Conquest eventually being completed by the MobilityWorks Commercial Manufacturing Division.<... (read more)

We’ve been hearing about an M version of the 1-Series coupe for some time now; however, BMW has yet to confirm anything – until now. M division boss Kay Segler revealed plans for an M version of the 1-Series coupe to AutoCar and said that he wants to send a “clear signal that our products are financially accessible.”

“With the modular production processes in place at BMW, it is possible to create performance cars that customers can not only dream about owning but also realistically afford,” Segler said.

The decision to approve the car for production came after an “overwhelmingly positive reaction” to recent customer clinics, said another BMW official.

Power for the M 1-Series coupe will come from BMW’s new 3.0L turbocharged straight 6-cylinder unit, which will be modified to produce around 350-hp, 48 more horsepower than the 135i and 70-hp less than the M3’s 4.0L V8.

According to AutoCar, we can expect to see the car sometime in 2011.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: AutoCar

“The Nexus One is where web meets phone,” says Google vice president of Android project management Mario Queiroz, pictured above. “It’s an exemplar of what’s possible on mobile phones. It belongs in an emerging category of devices which we call superphones.”

The phone will retail for $180 with a 2-year contract with T-Mobile, but will also be available for $530 unlocked (spot on with the latest speculation). It ships today and is available for purchase immediately at Google’s new online store. The Nexus One will be available on Verizon and Vodaphone networks this spring, Google says.

Google’s Nexus One will not only have to compete against other web-enabled handheld devices like the iPhone and Palm Pre, but also other Android phones such as the Motorola Droid. By releasing its own phone, Google puts itself in direct competition with other members of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), a consortium of mobile hardware and software developers and carriers, all of whom have been working on Google’s Linux-based Android operating system. It could represent a tricky balance for the company to maintain.
Oh boy, you heard that right. Google’s slinging its Nexus One to Verizon in the Spring for an undisclosed amount. At a purchase page that went live during the company’s product launch event in Mountain View, users are notified that the phone will soon be available on America’s largest carrier. Two things are immediately interesting here — for starters, it’s not coming (right away, at least) to bump heads with the iPhone on AT&T, and secondly, Google is openly suggesting that you buy Motorola’s (as in, not HTC’s) Droid now if you just can’t wait a day longer for some of that Android goodness. If AT&T wasn’t scared, it should be now.

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When it comes to peculiar penises, there’s no shortage in the animal kingdom. Just last month DISCOVER blogger Carl Zimmer documented new research into why many male ducks have such an extravagant spiral-shaped phallus. This week, in a paper (in press) in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study of goofy genitalia follows fruit flies.

The male fruit fly has a penis that resembles a medieval weapon, dotted with hooks and spines. Are those barbs there to remove rival sperm, or pierce the female’s genital tract to allow sperm a shortcut, or something else? There was one way to find out: lasers.

Scientists used lasers to shave the extra equipment off male fruit flies’ penises and set them free to try to mate. And, as it turned out, the hooks and spines simply help a male hang onto a female for the whole 10 minutes it take them to mate; without them, he didn’t do so well. From “Not Exactly Rocket Science”:

They found that a partial shave did nothing, but the full treatment significantly reduced the odds of the males mating with females. With the spines, they were virtually guaranteed to mate if a female was around; without them, their chances fell to around 20%. It wasn’t for lack of trying either – all of the shorn males tried to woo a female and almost all tried to mate. They simply failed. They did all the right things – mounting, placing their genitals in the right place – but it was for nought. And if the spineless males were placed in direct competition with a normal one over a female, they almost always lost.

Related Content:
Discoblog: The Strange, Violent Sex Lives of Fruit Flies & Beeltes
80beats: Meet the Sexually Irresistible Fruit Fly
The Loom: Kinkiness Beyond Kinky

Image: Wikimedia Commons / André Karwath

A molecular imaging technology aimed at rapid diagnosis of cell death in organs such as the brain and heart has been licensed by The Medical College of Wisconsin to GE Healthcare. The license allows GE to further evaluate and develop the invention and provides an option to commercialize the technology, which uses imaging probes with a radiopharmaceutical compound. The probes bind to dead and dying cells, making them useful for detecting acute cell injury and cell death. When the active component of this molecule is attached to a radioactive tracer, it can be used in nuclear medicine imaging techniques, such as PET (positron emission tomography) or SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography), to produce three-dimensional images of where this cell death is occurring. “Imaging agent discovery and development is an important aspect in molecular and medical imaging research,” says Ming Zhao, PhD, assistant professor of biophysics at the Medical College and inventor of the technology. “The process is critical for the improvement of existing imaging technologies and for early detection of acute cell death, cancerous tissue growth, and major vessel diseases.”

The ability to image dead and dying cells could allow oncologists to rapidly monitor tumor response to a specific therapy, Zhao points out. Another potential application is for rapid diagnosis of myocardial infarction, since patients who come to the ER complaining of chest pain often require an expensive overnight hospital stay so they can be monitored while their lab results are being processed. The new compound could allow clinicians to image the heart noninvasively and determine within a few hours if the patient had a heart attack or something else. Zhao’s research was supported by a proof-of-concept grant administered by the Medical College’s Office of Technology Development (OTD), which has filed several patent applications on the technology. “Working with the market leader in medical imaging allows this technology to be quickly moved from the research laboratory into patient care,” says Dennis Devitt, director of marketing and licensing for the OTD.

Source: EurekAlert!