For the Love of Teaching: Ways to Beat Brain Drain this Summer

Another excellent guest post by: Melissa Crossman!

Students lose as much as three months of learning during the extended summer break. Free from the discipline of the classroom, students experience what many educators call ?summer brain drain.? While year round school could eliminate this loss, most schools follow a traditional September to June calendar year. What can parents, teachers and students do to combat summer brain drain? Working as educational communities, they can produce an effective plan of action that keeps a student?s skills current and fresh. In preparation for school in the fall, six tips can start students on the path to academic success.

Old Standards

Flash cards refresh essential skills students learn in any subject. As students review the states and their capitals, multiplication and division facts or Chemistry elements and the signs, they develop fluency in these areas. Parents prepare flash cards by copying important information onto laminated note cards. Students reinforce and material and develop fluency as they quiz siblings or try to stump their parents during car rides to the pool.

Printable worksheets, online math games and board games cultivate math fluency. For interested parents and students, teachers willingly provide worksheets that engage students at home. In addition to educational online games, board games like Monopoly or Life help students develop math skills as they serve as the banker and face real life financial situations. LIkewise, students can calculate the tip after eating at a restaurant or budget the family's amusement park adventure. Math skills are typically lost more quickly than reading skills so any extra math assistance gives learners an advantage in fighting summer brain drain.

Contemporary Digital Options

More than entertainment, video games help students retain important skills. Memorization, strategy and problem solving are a few essential elements in a game that fight brain drain while a child plays. Edutainment involves games that educate students while keeping them entertained, and many video games fit this description.

Online classes provide excellent resources for students who wish to stay mentally agile during the summer break. Full-credit classes, cyber classrooms and online tutors motivate and engage students while helping them retain educational skills.

Traditional letter writing helps students practice their organizational skills and critical thinking. Instead of writing letters by hand, children could write a few sentences in an online journal every day to document their summer activities. Typing emails to friends or relatives also provides mental exercise for students of any age, as long as they type proper English rather than texting shortcuts.

Reading is Still Fundamental

Reading remains one of the most popular summer learning activities. Students choose books that interest them as they read aloud to a parent, grandparent or stuffed animal and listen to books read to them. Local libraries often offer supplemental programs to encourage reading. Reading road signs while traveling for vacation or menus at mealtime offer additional summer reading practice.

Working as a community to engage students throughout the summer allows parents, educators and students to fight brain drain. With video games, worksheets, flash cards, writing, reading, and online classes, the community combats the loss of knowledge during extended school breaks. This strategy ensures that students can find success in the classroom when school resumes in the fall.

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African extremist groups linking up: U.S. general

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Burger King returns to New York Stock Exchange

Burger King Corp. CEO Bernardo Hees, right, talks with specialist Donald Himpele, center, after his company's shares began trading on on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, June 20, 2012. Burger King's return to the Big Board wasn't through an initial public offering. 3G Capital announced an unusual deal in April to sell a minority stake to Justice Holdings Ltd., a London-based entity that was specifically set up to invest in another company. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Burger King Corp. CEO Bernardo Hees, right, talks with specialist Donald Himpele, center, after his company's shares began trading on on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, June 20, 2012. Burger King's return to the Big Board wasn't through an initial public offering. 3G Capital announced an unusual deal in April to sell a minority stake to Justice Holdings Ltd., a London-based entity that was specifically set up to invest in another company. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The New York Stock Exchange is once again the home of the Whopper.

Burger King began trading as a public company Wednesday under the ticker symbol "BKW," with shares gaining 98 cents, or 6.8 percent, to $15.48 in morning trading.

The world's No. 2 hamburger chain had last traded as a public company between 2006 and 2010 before it was purchased and taken private by investment firm 3G Capital.

Burger King's return to the Big Board wasn't through an initial public offering, however. 3G Capital announced an unusual deal in April to sell a minority stake to Justice Holdings Ltd., a London-based entity that was specifically set up to invest in another company. 3G Capital received $1.4 billion in exchange and retains a 71 percent stake in the company.

That stake was worth about $3.6 billion based on Burger King's opening share price, meaning that, on paper, 3G Capital has more than earned back the $3.26 billion it paid for Burger King in 2010.

Under the complex deal, Justice suspended trading on the London Stock Exchange once the transaction was complete and emerged as Burger King Worldwide Inc. on the New York Stock Exchange.

Only 16 percent of shares were available for sale to investors. The founders of Justice Holdings will hold onto their 13 percent of shares for at least one year as part of the deal. 3G Capital will hold onto its stake for at least six months.

Among Justice's founders are William Ackman, an activist investor and founder of Pershing Square Capital Management; Martin Franklin, founder and executive chairman of consumer products company Jarden Corp.; Alan Parker, former CEO of Whitbread PLC, the United Kingdom's largest hotel and restaurant company; and investor Nicolas Berggruen.

Franklin and Parker will join Burger King's board as part of the deal. 3G Capital has said that no other changes will be made to the senior leadership and that the company will continue its focus on turning around the brand.

As the fast-food market becomes increasingly crowded at home, Burger King like other companies has focused on expansion overseas. The Miami-based company recently announced plans to open hundreds of new restaurants in Russia and 1,000 in China over the next several years. That's in addition to similar expansion plans for Brazil.

In the past year, 80 percent of new store openings were in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Back in the U.S., Burger King ? long known for its "Home of the Whopper" tagline ? has been working to refresh its outdated image and win back lost market share. The company launched its biggest menu expansion ever in April, with items including fruit smoothies, specialty salads and coffee frappes. The chain is abandoning its strategy of courting young men and going after a broader customer base of moms and families.

The strategies at home and abroad will remain in place now that Burger King is a public company, says Daniel Schwartz, the company's chief financial officer and a partner with 3G.

"We have a situation where the value of the brand is so much bigger than the value of the business," he said. For example, he noted there is a long list of countries with dense populations where the chain has a limited presence despite its global recognition.

Burger King has more than 12,500 restaurants worldwide, compared with 33,000 for McDonald's Corp.

___

Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi

Associated Press

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PFT: Tomlinson lucky to retire with health intact

AP

Chad Ochocinco is changing his name, again.? Or at least his style.

Again.

In his first media availability as a member of the Miami Dolphins, Ochocinco said he plans to revert to the attitude that made him what he was, earlier in his career.

?It?s about my getting back to the basics, going back to the root of how it all started,? Ochocinco told reporters Tuesday, via video remarks posted at the team?s website.? ?Not as far as playing at home in Miami but as far as my game goes, and getting back to what we?re all used to seeing.? You know, the basic fundamentals of how I became what I am.? I think I kind of lost that, and I?m looking to go back to Chad Johnson and just make it live again.?

He?s right that he ?kind of lost? who he was, whether because he was trying to hard too fit in with a Patriots team that looks down on a player drawing too much attention to himself.? Chad constantly seemed to be paralyzed by fear of saying the wrong thing, running the wrong route, rubbing someone the wrong way.

Ochocinco also seemed a bit restrained in his Tuesday remarks, but a hint of the old Chad came through from time to time.? Like when Chad said he?s ?developing Brokeback Mountain-type chemistry with the players,? a term he once used in Cincinnati to describe his relationship with quarterback Carson Palmer.

Chad also playfully deflected whether he?ll be the team?s No. 1 receiver:? ?I was never good in math, so I?m not good with numbers, either.?

He also articulated an important reason for joining the Dolphins.? He said that Miami always has been his team of choice when playing video football.

?Since 1988, I?ve always played Madden, I?ve always used the Dolphins, no matter where I was, no matter where I was playing,? Chad said.

It will likely be slightly more complicated than a game of Madden for Chad to get back to being the guy he once was.? Whether that happens depends in large part on how much the Dolphins are willing to encourage him to be himself.

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Syrian forces pound cities as Obama, Putin meet

LOS CABOS, Mexico/BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Monday that the violence in Syria must stop but gave no sign of agreeing on how to do it even as Syrian security forces pounded opposition areas across the country.

Intense artillery fire was reported in Douma, a town 15 km (9 miles) outside the Syrian capital Damascus that for weeks has been under the partial control of rebels who have joined the 15-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

At least 79 people were killed in violence that has escalated since international observers suspended their mission, activists said.

A Russian naval source said Moscow was preparing to send marines to Syria in the event it needed to protect personnel and remove equipment from its naval facility in Syria's Mediterranean port of Tartous, according to the Interfax news agency.

Russia is one of the Syrian government's staunchest backers.

International efforts to halt the violence are deadlocked because Russia and China, which wield vetoes in the U.N. Security Council, have blocked tougher action against Assad. They say the solution must come through political dialogue, an approach most of the Syrian opposition rejects.

Obama and Putin held two hours of talks - longer than originally planned - at a Group of 20 summit in Mexico after a week of Cold War-style recriminations between U.S. and Russian diplomats over Syria. Putin frowned and Obama wore a sober expression during remarks to reporters after the meeting.

"We agreed that we need to see a cessation of the violence, that a political process has to be created to prevent civil war," Obama told reporters.

"From my point of view, we have found many common points on this issue" of Syria, Putin said, adding the two sides would continue discussions.

Obama said they pledged to "work with other international actors," including U.N./Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, to find a resolution.

Obama initiated a handshake for the cameras while the two remained seated. At the end of their statements, as reporters were being ushered out, both sat glumly watching but made no move to re-engage with each other. It was the first Obama-Putin meeting since 2009.

Obama and Western allies want Russia to stop shielding Assad from further Security Council sanctions aimed at forcing him from power. Putin is suspicious of U.S. motives especially after the NATO-assisted ouster of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi last year, and has offered little signs of softening his stance.

'NO APPETITE'

Though the United States has shown no appetite for a new Libya-style intervention, Russia is reluctant to abandon Syria, a longtime arms customer, and risk losing its last firm foothold in the Middle East, including access to a warm-water navy base.

Russia supports Assad's argument that foreign-backed terrorists are behind the unrest. Russia has repeatedly urged Western and Arab countries, who mostly back the rebels, to rein in their support in order to stem the violence.

International outrage over Syria has grown in recent weeks after two reported massacres in which almost 200 civilians were killed, most of them from the Sunni Muslim majority that has led the revolt. Assad comes from Syria's Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that has mostly backed the president.

Heavier fighting and apparent sectarian killings have led many, including the head of U.N. peacekeeping forces, to brand the violence a civil war.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists across Syria, said 51 civilians and rebel fighters had been killed on Monday, seven of them in Douma. It said 28 members of the security forces were also killed in clashes with rebels in Deir al-Zor, Damascus and Deraa.

"We can't even accurately count the dead because we have so many injured people to treat, there's no time to think about anything else," said an activist in Douma who called himself Ziad.

"The army attacks all the time. They have tanks, missiles, mortars, and artillery. Even helicopters have fired on us. People can't escape because the army is surrounding the town."

Assad's forces have in recent weeks used not only artillery but also helicopter gunships against rebels in civilian areas.

The head of the U.N. observation mission in Syria, General Robert Mood, is to brief the U.N. Security Council in New York on Tuesday, three days after his mission was suspended due to security concerns.

Mood said on Sunday he was worried about civilians trapped in the central city of Homs, epicenter of the revolt against Assad, whose residents say they have been pummeled by mortar and rocket fire almost every day since early June.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said the "relentless repression of the regime, and in particular in the city of Homs" meant it was more necessary than ever for the United Nations to enforce Annan's failing peace plan.

France has called on the United Nations to invoke Chapter VII, which can authorize the use of force, to enforce the plan, under which the Syrian army was to withdraw heavy weapons from towns and cities and both sides were to cease fighting in April.

In Geneva, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said the government's use of heavy weapons in populated areas could amount to war crimes, saying: "I urge the international community to overcome its divisions and work to end the violence and human rights violations to which the people of Syria have been subjected."

(Additional reporting by Gleb Bryanski in Los Cabos, Mexico, Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Tom Miles in Geneva, Dominic Evans in Beirut and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Will Dunham)

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Cracking Open 2 Oil Refiners

Oil refining has not historically been considered a business with particularly attractive returns on capital, but recent conditions in the oil markets have led to highly desirable conditions for two refiners in particular, HollyFrontier (HFC) and Western Refining (WNR). As a result, and for investors not sold on the longevity of those favorable conditions, both stocks are currently a part of our Investing "universe." Let's take a look at the business, why the going is good at present, whether it can last, and which of these two players is the more attractive choice for investors intrigued by the story.

Oil Refining: The Quick and Dirty

Refining is a relatively simple business to understand. Crude oil pumped out of the ground by exploration and production firms (E&Ps) is then transported to refineries, usually via a network of pipelines and storage terminals. There, crude is heated to separate, or "crack" it into the industrial end products sold by the refiners: gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, motor oil, lubricants, and so forth. The profits earned by the refiners are the difference between the prices they can obtain crude at and the prices they can sell their end products for. In the industry, this is sometimes referred to as the "crack spread." Given the volatility of crude oil prices and less volatile nature of end product selling prices, refining can be a quite up and down business, with dramatic peaks and valleys in profitability. In general, though, this is a historically low margin business. Even the most well-run refiners only earn operating margins of 2-3% over the long run, and returns on capital struggle to exceed 10%.

The Flavors of Crude

There are actually over 160 different types of crude oil, but the two that are traded on commodity markets are West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, and Brent. WTI is produced mainly in North America, while Brent is imported. Historically, these two types of crude have been priced fairly close to each other.

However, this has changed dramatically over the past year-and-a-half. Huge production increases in North America, due mainly to shale fracking, have brought a tremendous amount of WTI crude into the system, more than the existing refining, pipeline, and storage terminal system can efficiently process. True to Economics 101, the increasing supply has led to decreasing prices for WTI. Since the start of 2011, WTI has priced between 10-20% lower than Brent, spiking up to above 25% and currently at about a 15% discount.

HFC and WNR: Taking Advantage

This WTI price discount has benefitted refiners that are geographically close to WTI production areas, or are connected directly via pipeline to WTI hubs like Cushing, OK. HFC and WNR are two such refiners. 4 of HollyFrontier's 5 refineries fit this description (Cheyenee, El Dorado, Navajo, and Tulsa), and WNR operates 2 refineries, in El Paso, and Gallup, New Mexico, both in the region. Easy access to lower-cost WTI gives them a cost advantage against other refiners, and this can be seen in the margins. While firms like Valero (VLO) and Tesoro (TSO) continue to generate gross margins around 10%, HFC and WNR produced 18% and 17%, respectively, for 2011. In the refining business, where revenue levels are tremendous (HFC was over $15.5 billion last year), each point of margin leads to big gains in profits.

Can It Last?

HFC and WNR are in our investing universe because the market doesn't believe the current situation will last indefinitely. Steps are already being taken to free up the WTI backlog. The Seaway pipeline from Cushing to the Gulf Coast was recently reversed, sending flow out of Cushing to alleviate the bottleneck. Combined with planned new refining and pipeline projects, over time the WTI/Brent spread will most likely reduce back to more historically normal levels. But this could take some time to come to fruition.

Which is Better?

Let's take a quick look at the metrics:

Earnings Yield: HFC 29.3%, WNR 29.9%.

Free Cash Yield: HFC 19.1%, WNR 19.9%.

Dividend Yield: HFC 1.86%, WNR 0.78%.

Debt-to-Equity Ratio: HFC 0.25, WNR 1.02.

Interest Coverage Ratio: HFC 20.9, WNR 5.8.

Clearly, the numbers are in favor of HFC. It is in much better financial condition than WNR, pays a better dividend (with 2 special dividends in the past year), is larger and more diversified (particularly after the Frontier merger), and boasts a seasoned management team. If the refining story sounds intriguing, HFC looks to be the better pick of the two.

The Wrap

I'm not a big fan of either stock as an ... refining is just too unpredictable and historically difficult of a business. And neither stock looks particularly cheap against reasonable future expectations. These kinds of situations are difficult to handicap in our investment universe - sometimes favorable conditions last long enough to generate ongoing great results, sometimes they do not. We are more interested in finding the sustainably great businesses the screen turns up.

Disclosure: No positions in any stocks discussed in this article

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Republicans refine immigration message after Obama's policy scoop (CNN)

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Timur Bekmambetov Talks Wanted 2

For anyone who was clamoring for Wanted 2, it?s been a disappointing past four years.? After listening to Mark Millar talk out of his ass about how far the sequel is coming along, Angelina Jolie dropped out, but then there was a glimmer of progress when original writers Derek Haas and Michael Brandt signed on last fall.? Since then, word has been quiet, but director Timur Bekmambetov provided an update on the project this past weekend at the press junket for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Hit the jump for more.

Speaking to The Playlist, Bekmambetov said that they had been stuck on how to proceed on a sequel where most of the cast had died in the first movie and the characters took their orders from a quilt.? But now it looks like they?ve cracked the story:

?An unbelievable thing happened three weeks ago,? Bekmambetov said. ?Because we stopped, we didn?t know what to do for three or four years. Three weeks ago I came up with a great idea and I pitched this idea and everybody fell in love with it. And now I think we?re on track. Right now the writer is working on the script, and it will be shocking.?

Bekmambetov wouldn?t go into details regarding this ?great idea? that ?everybody fell in love with?, but he said it would continue the story of James McAvoy?s character, Wesley Gibson.? ?Other people are dead, you know, we can?t bring them back,? said Bekmambetov.? ?The story is the same character, same mythology, but it?s got a great twist.?? I?m not sure what the twist is, but I hope it will involve the old ?Explosive Rodent? gambit.

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A welcome let-up in health costs that may not last

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Health care spending has eased up recently, a welcome respite for government and corporate budgets. But why has it? And will relief last or are medical costs on a roller coaster, like gas prices?

One explanation for the slowdown says it's a temporary consequence of the recession and an economy that can't seem to hit its stride. A more hopeful view says American medicine is moving from disjointed solo practice to teamwork models aimed at keeping patients healthier, and that's a permanent change.

It's not a stretch to say the future of U.S. health care depends on the answer. If the system can reform itself from within to reduce waste and deliver better results, it will help stave off sharp cuts to hospitals and doctors, as well as more cost shifts to their patients, working families with employer coverage and older people in Medicare.

Two doctors ? one in Washington state, the other in Montana ? come to different conclusions about what they're seeing.

Dr. Glen Stream of Spokane, Wash., says he sees the reason for the slowdown through patients in his examination room. A 55-year-old tech worker with diabetes, self-employed and uninsured after being laid off, is unable to afford brand-name medications. A 50-year-old woman at risk of liver cancer is refusing regular MRI scans for early detection. Although she has fairly good insurance, the copayments are too high.

"Far and away it is related to economic issues," Stream said. "I see people who have medical conditions who I should be seeing every three months. They tell me they can only afford to come in every six months or once a year."

Dr. Doug Carr of Billings, Mont., doesn't dispute the impact of the economy, but says long-lasting improvements are coming together beneath the surface and will emerge.

Carr is medical director for education at the Billings Clinic, in the forefront of developing something called a "patient-centered medical home." It's basically general-medicine doctors, physician assistants and nurses who closely follow patients with chronic illnesses to try to keep them from developing complications that require hospital treatment. More than 30 states are experimenting with the model, as are Medicare and major insurers and employers.

"We are seeing in early pilots up to a 10 percent reduction in premiums," said Carr. The savings stem mainly from fewer trips to the emergency room and less hospitalization, but also from better coordination that avoids duplicative and pricey imaging tests.

"You can pay for an awful lot of doctor visits by avoiding a single MRI," Carr pointed out. Medical homes embrace computers for tracking blood pressures, blood sugar levels and other vital indicators of how their patients are doing.

So far, the officials keeping score of the nation's health care costs are skeptical.

"It's too early to say that something significant and dramatic and permanent has occurred," said Stephen Heffler, director of national health statistics for Medicare's Office of the Actuary, responsible for economic estimates.

The country's health care tab grew more slowly in 2009 and 2010 than at any other time in the more than 50 years the government has tracked it closely. Estimates suggest the 2011 increase stayed under 4 percent, in line with overall economic growth. That dry statistic has huge implications because health care costs had been growing about 2 percentage points faster than the economy, a pace that breaks the bank. Unfortunately, Heffler's number-crunching unit sees an eventual return to the earlier trend as the economy fully recovers.

But one of Washington's prominent economists says he's convinced something different is happening.

"For the first time, providers are beginning to ask how much their recommended interventions cost and whether there isn't a way to reduce those costs," said Robert Reischauer, former director of the Congressional Budget Office. "Younger physicians are more tech savvy and more interested in a balanced work-family life and more willing to work in teams. So there is lots going on that quite frankly never happened in a convincing way before."

President Barack Obama's health care law, awaiting a Supreme Court decision on its fate, attempts to nudge Medicare into a leading role in the wave of experimentation. The program is trying various strategies to change the behavior of service providers, such as penalizing hospitals with too many preventable readmissions, offering to share savings with medical networks that can operate more efficiently, and promoting coordination among hospitals, rehabilitation centers and home health agencies.

Stream, the Spokane-area doctor, says he hopes such reforms do work. He doubles as president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, a professional society heavily committed to the new direction. But in the meantime, Stream worries about his economically pressed patients.

The woman at risk for liver cancer is doing well, but Stream said he is concerned she may eventually develop a tumor that is not detected early enough.

The tech worker with diabetes is on maximum doses of generic pills, the best he can do on his budget. But his blood sugar is not well controlled. He is beginning to develop complications.

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No Way Out 2012 results

WWE.com will bring you complete No Way Out 2012 results starting Sunday evening. Will Raw and SmackDown General Manager John Laurinaitis hear the words "You're fired"? Whose side will AJ fall on during the WWE Championship Triple Threat Match? Can "The Showoff" Dolph Ziggler unseat World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus?

No Way Out 2012 scheduled matches:

Steel Cage Match - If Big Show loses, John Laurinaitis is fired
John Cena vs. Big Show (Preview)

WWE Championship Triple Threat Match
CM Punk (c) vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane (Preview)

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Sheamus (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler (Preview)

Intercontinental Championship Match
Christian (c) vs. Cody Rhodes (Preview)

Divas Championship Match
Layla (c) vs. Beth Phoenix (Preview)

Tuxedo Match
United States Champion Santino Marella vs. Ricardo Rodriguez (Preview)

Pre-Show Match
Brodus Clay vs. David Otunga (Preview)

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Radiohead Stage Collapse Kills One

Accident in Toronto left two others injured. All three men were likely members of Radiohead's tour crew.
By Jonathan Goldner

The collapsed section of stage at Toronto's Downsview Park
Photo:

A massive section of ironwork collapsed at Toronto's Downsview Park Saturday afternoon prior to Radiohead's planned show there, leaving one dead and three injured.

According to Toronto Police, the deceased man was in his thirties. Given that the show was not yet open to the audience, he was likely a member of Radiohead's tour crew. The man's name is not yet being released until such time as police are able to notify his family. Two of the injured were treated and released with minor injuries. The third, 45 years old, sustained a serious, but not life-threatening injury to his head.

It's not clear if the victims were working on the elevated metalwork or on the stage level when the collapse occurred.

So far Radiohead's only comment has been via their Twitter, which posted what appears to be a hastily written message just after 5 pm ET. "Due to unforeseen circumstances tonight's at downsview park tonight has been cancelled. Fans are advised not to make their way to the venue."

The CBC spoke to several concessionaires who were on scene at the time of the accident. Alexandra Mihan reported a sound like fireworks, then hearing screaming and gasping. "We turned around, and the entire top of the stage has just collapsed. All of the metalwork and all of the screens had just kind of folded over on top of each other." Photos and videos making their way across the Internet on Saturday painted a similarly grim picture.

Beer vendor Jeff Cole added, "It's very, very fortunate that the gates weren't open, because it would have been pandemonium."

Related Artists

• Radiohead

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Red Sox?take care of?Cubs

By ANDREW SELIGMAN

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 11:08 p.m. ET June 16, 2012

CHICAGO (AP) - Jarrod Saltalamacchia was struggling, so Bobby Valentine did something drastic.

Bench him? Nope.

Instead, he started him in the cleanup spot for the first time in his career, and for one night, at least, it worked.

Saltalamacchia homered to back a strong start by Jon Lester, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 on Saturday.

"Sometimes crazy times ask for crazy measures," Valentine said. And the way he saw it, batting Saltalamacchia in the fourth slot was one.

He came into the game mired in an 0-for-17 slide but broke out of it with two hits, including a two-run drive in the fourth, and Boston came out on top after dropping eight of 11.

Scott Podsednik and Mike Aviles had two hits apiece, and Podsednik and Will Middlebrooks each drove in a run.

Lester (4-4) and the Red Sox were leading 4-0 when the Cubs rallied in the seventh.

Jeff Baker led off with a bloop double and Welington Castillo walked with one out. Then Luis Valbuena belted a three-run homer for his first hit with Chicago.

Lester struck out David DeJesus before Scott Atchison retired Reed Johnson on a grounder to end the inning. Vicente Padilla worked the eighth and Alfredo Aceves finished for his 16th save in 19 chances.

Pinch-hitter Steve Clevenger started the Cubs ninth with a single, but Aceves struck out Bryan LaHair and got Castillo to bounce into a game-ending double play.

Lester gave the Red Sox just what they needed on the same day Josh Beckett went on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation, the latest in a long line of injuries for Boston.

The veteran allowed seven hits, struck out eight and walked one against a team that came in with a .222 average against left-handers, third lowest in the National League.

Jeff Samardzija (5-5) struck out six in 5 1-3 innings for the Cubs after getting roughed up in a loss to Minnesota in his previous start. He was charged with three runs and four hits.

Samardzija was lifted after he issued consecutive walks to David Ortiz and Saltalamacchia. Randy Wells came in, and Middlebrooks drove in Ortiz with a single.

Samardzija's only other glitch was the drive to right by Saltalamacchia on a 1-2 splitter.

"It felt good," Saltalamacchia said. "I talked to (Valentine) as I was walking out (Friday) night and that's exactly what he said. He said `They're gonna start falling because you've been swinging the bat well."'

The Cubs threatened with two out in the sixth, but a breakdown by Alfonso Soriano helped end it.

With runners on first and second, Middlebrooks dropped his hard liner to third. Soriano never ran, though, and was thrown out at first.

A crowd that had seen lapses from him before let him have it on the way to the dugout and when he trotted back out to left field. There were more loud boos when he struck out in the eighth.

But the way Soriano sees it, he didn't deserve that kind of treatment. He said the boos were unfair and there really wasn't much he could do on that play.

"I think that they don't understand the game," Soriano said. "It's a line drive, nothing you can do about it. If it's a ground ball and I don't run, they can do whatever they want. But a hard line drive right at the glove? I don't know what they want."

While the fans made their feelings clear, so did the Cubs. Put simply, they had Soriano's back.

"It's one of those things where 100 percent every player in the history of baseball would do the same thing," manager Dale Sveum said. "I did it a lot, a lot, of times."

Soriano is a lightning rod for fans, though - fair or not.

"Sori takes a lot of heat for a lot of things," Samardzija said. "Obviously, it is what it is. There's not one guy in that locker room that has anything bad to say about him."

NOTES: With Beckett going on the DL, Boston recalled right-handed reliever Clayton Mortensen from Triple-A Pawtucket. Beckett was scheduled to start Sunday. Instead, LHP Franklin Morales (0-1 with a 3.04 ERA in 22 relief appearances) will pitch in his place, with Paul Maholm starting for the Cubs. ... OF Carl Crawford (sprained ulnar collateral ligament in left elbow) "threw the ball really well" from 110 feet, Valentine said. He also took batting practice for the second consecutive day. ... Red Sox RHP Aaron Cook (left knee laceration) will make his first rehab start on Monday with Triple-A Pawtucket and is scheduled to throw 50-75 pitches. ... Valbuena was promoted from Triple-A Iowa on Thursday. ... Actor Vince Vaughn threw out the first pitch and led the seventh-inning rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Obama panders to hispanics and decreases the likelihood of broader reform (Powerlineblog)

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Breast milk kills HIV and blocks its oral transmission in humanized mouse

Friday, June 15, 2012

More than 15 percent of new HIV infections occur in children. Without treatment, only 65 percent of HIV-infected children will live until their first birthday, and fewer than half will make it to the age of two. Although breastfeeding is attributed to a significant number of these infections, most breastfed infants are not infected with HIV, despite prolonged and repeated exposure.

HIV researchers have been left with a conundrum: does breast milk transmit the virus or protect against it?

New research from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine explores this paradox in a humanized mouse model, demonstrating that breast milk has a strong virus killing effect and protects against oral transmission of HIV.

"This study provides significant insight into the amazing ability of breast milk to destroy HIV and prevent its transmission," said J. Victor Garcia, PhD, senior author on the study and professor of medicine in the UNC Center for Infectious Diseases and the UNC Center for AIDS Research. "It also provides new leads for the isolation of natural products that could be used to combat the virus."

Garcia and colleagues pioneered the humanized "BLT" mouse model, which is created by introducing human bone marrow, liver and thymus tissues into animals without an immune system of their own. Humanized BLT mice have a fully functioning human immune system and can be infected with HIV in the same manner as humans.

In the study, the researchers first determined that the oral cavity and upper digestive tract of BLT mice have the same cells that affect oral transmission of HIV in humans and then successfully transmitted the virus to the mice through these pathways. When the mice were given virus in whole breast milk from HIV-negative women, however, the virus could not be transmitted.

"These results are highly significant because they show that breast milk can completely block oral transmission of both forms of HIV that are found in the breast milk of HIV-infected mothers: virus particles and virus-infected cells," said Angela Wahl, PhD, a post-doctoral researcher in Garcia's lab and lead author on the paper. "This refutes the 'Trojan horse' hypothesis which says that HIV in cells is more stubborn against the body's own innate defenses than HIV in virus particles."

Finally, the researchers studied the effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with antiretroviral medication for oral transmission of HIV. Garcia and his team have previously shown that PrEP is effective against intravenous, vaginal and rectal transmission of HIV in humanized BLT mice. In this study, they gave the mice antiretroviral drugs for seven days (3 days before and 4 days after exposing them to the virus) and found 100 percent protection against virus transmission.

These latest findings provide important leads to alternative treatments that could be used to prevent transmission.

"No child should ever be infected with HIV because it is breastfed. Breastfeeding provides critical nutrition and protection from other infections, especially where clean water for infant formula is scarce," Garcia said. "Understanding how HIV is transmitted to infants and children despite the protective effects of milk will help us close this important door to the spread of AIDS."

The study appears in the June 14, 2012 issue of the online journal PLoS Pathogens.

###

University of North Carolina Health Care: http://www.med.unc.edu

Thanks to University of North Carolina Health Care for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Dwyane Wade enjoyed the Dream Team NBA TV special

Posted by Inside Hoops

Jun 14

Wade, who was part of the 2008 ?Redeem Team? and is a possible ? though not certain ? participant in the 2012 Games in London, was just 10 at the time. As a viewer, he was most amused by John Stockton getting off the bus and shooting video of fans who didn?t recognize the 6-foot-1, average-looking Jazz point guard.

He was most intrigued by the interactions.

?I didn?t know the relationships that them guys had or didn?t have,? Wade said. ?I think the biggest thing that surprised me was probably Michael Jordan and (late Detroit and U.S. coach) Chuck Daly. I know the rivalry between Chicago and Detroit, and for those guys to go out and golf and have the relationship they had, I found that very shocking?. But you understand it, especially playing on the Olympic game, with all these great players and different personalities, and knowing how our team came together.?

? Reported by Ethan J. Skolnick of the?Palm Beach Post (Blog)

Filed under: Fun, Miami Heat

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Greece's Rundown State Hospitals Rationing Basic Materials For Exhausted Doctors

* Hospitals lack staff, basic equipment and supplies
* Pharmacies demand cash for drugs
* Free clinics staffed by volunteer doctors
By Karolina Tagaris
ATHENS, June 14 (Reuters) - Greece's rundown state hospitals are cutting off vital drugs, limiting non-urgent operations and rationing even basic medical materials for exhausted doctors as a combination of economic crisis and political stalemate strangle health funding.
With Greece now in its fifth year of deep recession, trapped under Europe's biggest public debt burden and dependent on international help to keep paying its bills, the effects are starting to bite deeply into vital services.
"It's a matter of life and death for us," said Persefoni Mitta, head of the Cancer Patients' Association, recounting the dozens of calls she gets a day from Greeks needing pricey, hard-to-find cancer drugs. "Why are they depriving us of life?"
Greece, a member of the euro zone that groups some of the richest nations on earth, has descended so far that drugmakers are even working on emergency plans to keep medicines flowing into the country should it crash out of the currency bloc.
The emergency has grown out of a tangle of unpaid bills, with pharmacists and doctors complaining of being unable to pay suppliers until competing health insurers clear a growing backlog of unfilled state payments.
Greece imports nearly all its medicines and relies heavily on patented rather than cheaper generic drugs, making it vulnerable to a funding squeeze that would grow sharply worse if it were forced out of the euro after elections on Sunday.
Long queues have been forming outside a handful of pharmacies that still provide medication on credit - the rest are demanding cash upfront until the government pays up a subsidy backlog of 762 million euros, or nearly $1 billion.
"We're not talking about painkillers here - we've learned to live with physical pain - we need drugs to keep us alive," Mitta, a petite former marathon runner and herself a cancer survivor, said in a voice shaky with emotion.
Greeks have long had to give medical staff cash "gifts" to ensure good treatment. Nevertheless the health system was considered "relatively efficient" before the crisis despite a variety of problems including a fragmented organisation and excess bureaucracy, according to a 2009 report for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
But it has been unable to respond to the growing crisis. The European Union and International Monetary Fund, which provided a 130 billion euro lifeline to Greece in March, have demanded big cuts to the system as part of a wider package of austerity measures.
But powerful medical lobbies and unions have resisted fiercely. Caretaker Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos, in office until a new government is formed after the elections, has pleaded for a solution but been powerless to force a change.
"It is imperative that this matter is resolved immediately in order to prevent putting people's lives at risk," Pikrammenos said last week.

BED SHEETS
Outside one of the 133 state hospitals - whose managers have sometimes been appointed as supporters of whichever political party was in power at the time - a banner put up by protesting staff reads "Hospitals Belong to the People". Inside, its gloomy labyrinth of corridors tell a different story.
A doctor at the university hospital in the northwestern Athens suburb of Chaidari cites a lack of basic examining room supplies in her own department, such as cotton wool, catheters, gloves and paper used to cover the examining table.
The shortage of paper, which is thrown out after each patient has used it, means corners have to be cut on hygiene.
"Sometimes we take a bed sheet instead and use it for several patients," said Kiki Kiale, a radiologist specialising in cancer screening. "It's tragic but there's no other solution."
Kiale, 52, said staff cutbacks and a lack of crucial equipment - including a digital mammography machine - meant some doctors were seeing 40 patients during a shift but many patients were still unable to get treatment.
In the chaos, patients can slip through the cracks or turn up for treatment again only when their illness has progressed too far for them to be saved.
"Some incidents are lost completely, others manage to return after a year but it's too late," said Kiale, who spent five years working in Britain's National Health Service (NHS), adding that the lack of stable government made the problem worse.
"Everyone is hiding behind the elections, behind political uncertainty. Everyone is hiding behind the crisis."
Elections last month produced a stalemate, with no party achieving a parliamentary majority or able to form a coalition.
Greeks vote again on Sunday to try to break the deadlock, with pro-bailout conservatives neck-and-neck with a radical leftist party SYRIZA which rejects the EU and IMF's austerity demands. This has raised the possibility that the lenders will cut off the financial lifeline and Greece will have to leave the euro zone if SYRIZA wins and manages to form a coalition.
Pharmaceutical industry sources say drugmakers have already discussed with European authorities how to keep Greece supplied with medicines should it have only new, radically devalued drachmas to pay for them.
They have been looking closely at the experience of Argentina's collapse in 2002, when some firms agreed to continue to supply medicines without payment for a while.
Greece's wider crisis, which has deprived it of a stable administration for months and absorbed official attention, has made it impossible to push through deep health reform and forced the government to resort to sticking-plaster measures.
The Health Ministry says the reports of shortages have been exaggerated and has promised to pay health suppliers 600 million euros from its own budget and that of finance ministry. However, this covers only existing arrears to March, leaving the period to June uncovered.
The IMF has said Greece needs to keep public health spending below 6 percent of GDP, down from around 10 percent at present and must sharply cut spending on pharmaceuticals which has surged over the past decade.
It says Athens must cut such spending by at least 2 billion euros from 2010 levels, a step that would bring the average public expenditure on outpatient pharmaceuticals to 1 percent of GDP by the end of this year.

"LITTLE ENVELOPES"
What effect such cuts will have on patient care is likely to be dramatic, especially without a wider reform of healthcare.
Even before the crisis, public hospitals were under strain and the notorious cash-filled "fakelaki" or "little envelope" which patients have had to hand over to get good treatment have become a byword for the corruption in the system.
As the crisis has bitten, ever more Greeks can no longer afford to pay. Rocketing unemployment has meant many have fallen behind with insurance contributions or have trouble paying the 10-25 percent of prescription costs not covered by the system.
"The health system has shut its door in their face," said Katerina Avloniti, a 27-year-old psychologist at a free medical clinic in Athens whose patients are no longer eligible to get a blood test, a cardiogram or a simple check up.
Housed on one floor of the Athens Medical Association, the clinic is staffed by volunteer cardiologists, general practitioners, dentists and physiotherapists who see about 60 people a day, relying on unused drugs donated by other patients.
"Most are on the verge of depression, others are thinking of suicide. Many are ashamed because until recently, they had a job," she said, adding that many of the patients are 25 to 30-year-olds who have not been able to find work.
Avloniti said the crisis risked spiralling into a wider health emergency if treatment levels continued to fall. "Some people are walking timebombs - they could have a disease that is highly transmittable. We shouldn't close the door on them." (Additional reporting by Yiorgos Karahalis; editing by David Stamp)

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'The Choice': Joe Jonas Stumbles Over A Question About Virginity (VIDEO)

Mon., June 11: "Tia and Tamera"

(8 p.m. ET on Style) <em>season premiere</em> <br /><br /> As they face the realities of motherhood and matrimony, Tia and Tamera lean heavily on each other to lighten the difficult moments with comedic insight and advice. After giving birth to her first child, Tia is figuring out how to balance being a successful actress and a successful mom. Tamera, as she approaches her one-year anniversary, is wondering about her new role as a working wife. With homes in Los Angeles and Napa Valley, where her husband's family also owns a vineyard, Tamera finds herself pulled between two different worlds, struggling to decide which she will ultimately call home.

Mon., June 11: "Bunheads"

(9 p.m. ET on ABC Family) <em>series premiere</em> <br /><br /> Don't let the title put you off -- this witty, heartfelt dramedy from "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino is as close a return to Stars Hollow as we're ever going to get. It has that signature "GG" rapid-fire banter, all too familiar music cues and a smart, sarcastic brunette at its center (this time played by Broadway star Sutton Foster). Did we mention it also stars Kelly Bishop? Foster plays Michelle, a Las Vegas showgirl who impulsively marries a man, moves to his sleepy coastal town, and takes an uneasy role at her new mother-in-law's dance school.

Mon., June 11: "Lost Girl"

(10 p.m. ET on Syfy) <br /><br /> Bo's efforts to help Trick find a stolen body uncover a lethal Lich -- and our heroine is put in a precarious position that helps open her eyes to the true extent of her powers.

Tues., June 12: "The Catalina"

(8 p.m. ET on The CW) <br /><br /> It's Gay Pride weekend in South Beach and The Catalina has never been more fabulous. Eyal and the staff build a float to compete in a local parade, while hotel manager Stephanie becomes romantically involved with a guest.

Tues., June 12: "Thorne: Sleepyhead"

(9 p.m. ET on Encore) <em>original miniseries </em> <br /><br /> Part One of the eerie and atmospheric crime drama event, starring David Morrissey as the compelling Detective Inspector Tom Thorne, who possesses a gritty sensibility and an unhinged desire to discover killers. In the first installment, Thorne investigates a series of unusual attacks on young women. The first three victims are found dead, however the fourth victim -- Alison Willetts -- survived an excruciating attack and is lucky to be alive. The miniseries concludes on Wed., June 13 at 9 p.m. ET with "Thorne: Scaredy Cat," when Thorne is joined by Sandra Oh ("Grey's Anatomy") as Detective Sergeant Sarah McEvoy, who appears to be a tough, calm and capable cop to her male colleagues, but is simultaneously battling a serious drug addiction.

Tues., June 12: "The Next Big Thing"

(11 p.m. ET on Oxygen) <em>series premiere</em> <br /><br /> Starring Trapper Felides, a top New York City performance coach and musical director who gives his clients the blunt truth and tough love they need to succeed. The series will follow Felides as he mentors a group of performers as they prepare for their next career-changing audition or their big music industry break. In each episode viewers will get an inside look at Trapper's uncensored methods for success to turn good performers into great ones, and great ones into stars. Trapper is much more than just a vocal coach and career maker -- he's also a life coach, a brother, a mentor and a seasoned guide through the tough world of show business.

Wed., June 13: "Dallas"

(9 p.m. ET on TNT) <em>two-hour series premiere</em> <br /><br /> Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray reprise their famous characters as J.R., Bobby and Sue Ellen Ewing, returning to Southfork with secrets, schemes and betrayals. This time, they're joined by the next generation of Ewings, played by Josh Henderson and Jesse Metcalfe, who take ambition and deception to a new level as the future of Southfork is called into question.

Wed., June 13: "Duets"

(9.31 p.m. ET on ABC) <em>new timeslot</em> <br /><br /> For the next two weeks, the talent contest moves to Wednesday nights, returning to 8 p.m. Thursdays on June 28. Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Thicke take the stage and perform party songs with their hand-picked Duet Partners. Tonight one amateur is eliminated, leaving six remaining in the competition.

Wed., June 13: "America's Best Dance Crew"

(10 p.m. ET on MTV) <em>season finale</em> <br /><br /> The two remaining crews, 8 Flavahz and Elektrolytes, battle it out for the coveted title.

Thurs., June 14: "Burn Notice"

(9 p.m. ET on USA) <em>season premiere</em> <br /><br /> Season 6 of this summer favorite picks up after Fiona turned herself in on charges of terrorism to save Michael from an extreme case of blackmail. With Fiona in federal custody, Michael and his crew must band together to rescue their friend from a lifetime prison sentence.

Thurs., June 14: "Suits"

(10 p.m. ET on USA) <em>season premiere</em> <br /><br /> The future of brilliant, but not-technically-legal, associate Mike Ross hangs in the balance when a friend threatens to expose him. Legendary law partner Harvey Specter attempts to guard his secret from the firm's top suit Jessica Pearson while she faces even bigger problems when the other half of Pearson Hardman reemerges on the scene.

Thurs., June 14: "The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet"

(11 p.m. ET on Lifetime) <br /><br /> Presenting an honest, authentic and raw view of the shared issues affecting women today, each episode features de Cadenet having powerful and in-depth interviews with some of the world's most famous and influential women. This week's topic is "Living Deliberately," with guests Connie Britton, Mira Sorvino, Kelly Preston and Christina Applegate.

Fri., June 15: "Fairly Legal"

(9 p.m. ET on USA) <em>season finale</em> Kate digs deeper when a news station fires a lesbian couple for fraternizing in the workplace. Also, Kate must choose between Justin and Ben.

Fri., June 15: "Say Yes To The Dress"

(9 p.m. ET on TLC) <em>season premiere</em> <br /><br /> The show returns to its roots at New York's famous Kleinfeld Bridal salon. Part fashion show, part bridal story, part family therapy, the series uncovers the hurdles every staff member faces to make each bride completely satisfied on what may be the single most important day of her life. The new season brings a new batch of unique personalities. From demanding moms to picky fianc?s, brides with unlimited budgets and an appearance from fashion-forward Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir, viewers will be exposed to nearly every aspect of dress shopping in preparation for the big day.

Fri., June 15: "Comedy Bang! Bang!"

(10 p.m. ET on IFC) <br /><br /> In each episode, host Scott Aukerman engages his guests with unfiltered and improvisational lines of questioning, punctuated by banter and beats provided by bandleader, one-man musical mastermind Reggie Watts, to reinvent the traditional celebrity interview. Packed with character cameos, filmic shorts, sketches and games set amongst an off-beat world, the show delivers thirty minutes of absurd laugh-loaded fun featuring some of the biggest names in comedy. This week's guest is "Parks and Recreation" star Amy Poehler.

Sat., June 16: "Piranhaconda"

(9 p.m. ET on Syfy) <em>original telefilm</em> <br /><br /> With a name like that, how can you resist? In B-movie icon Roger Corman's latest, a hybrid creature -- half piranha and half anaconda -- attacks a movie crew on location near her nest when her egg is stolen. Now they must outrun and kill the deadly piranhaconda as well as stop the mad scientist who stole the egg -- before they all become dinner. Stars Michael Madsen and Rachel Hunter.

Sun., June 17: "Falling Skies"

(9 p.m. ET on TNT) <em>two-hour season premiere</em> After last season's cliffhanger finale, Tom returns to the resistance, but his loyalty is called into question, while Pope takes command of a renegade faction within the 2nd Mass.

Sun., June 17: "The Killing"

(9 p.m. ET on AMC) <em>season finale</em> <br /><br /> Will the second season finale cause as much controversy as last year's did? Only time will tell. Sarah and Holder close the case. Richmond sets out on a bold new path. The Larsen family gains closure from an unsuspected source.

Sun., June 17: "Forensic Firsts"

(9 p.m. ET on The Smithsonian Channel) <em>series premiere</em> <br /><br /> This series showcases the history of the forensic tools we take for granted today. Each episode weaves together two criminal cases: a headline-grabbing modern murder investigation and the very first case where a forensic technique was invented and tested in court. Through the course of the hour, the cases reveal how the science evolved, often from a simple hunch into a sophisticated tool that revolutionized crime science.

Sun., June 17: "Nurse Jackie"

(9 p.m. ET on Showtime) <em>season finale</em> <br /><br /> Cruz pushes Jackie to the breaking point, then fires her. Followed by the season finales of "The Big C" and "The Borgias."

Sun., June 17: "Girls"

(10 p.m. ET on HBO) <em>season finale</em> <br /><br /> It's been a divisive freshman season, but we're intrigued to see what Lena Dunham has in store for the finale. Hannah's on the hunt for a new roommate, and has a surprising confrontation with Adam, while Jessa throws a "mystery party."

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Scientists Tackle The Geography Of Nature Vs. Nurture In Maps Of U.K.

Enlarge TEDS

Data from the Twins Early Development Study shows areas in the U.K. where the effect of environmental factors, shown in pink, trumps the influence of genes, shown in blue, and vice versa.

TEDS

Data from the Twins Early Development Study shows areas in the U.K. where the effect of environmental factors, shown in pink, trumps the influence of genes, shown in blue, and vice versa.

Scientists don't debate the old nature vs. nurture question much these days. The consensus is that there is no winner: Both your genes and your environment shape your development and your health. What's still up in the air is how they combine to put you at risk for diseases or social problems. And that matters for people trying to solve them.

Now it appears that, even for a single disease or condition, the balance between nature and nurture isn't fixed place to place. That's what researchers at Kings College London, writing this week in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, are showing with maps that identify hotspots in the U.K. where either genetic or environmental factors dominate.

"Virtually everything you can measure is a mix of genes and the environment," Oliver Davis, a lecturer in psychiatry and lead author of the study, tells Shots. "What we're interested in here is how that balance shifts in different places."

? Enlarge TEDS

The researchers discovered that London was a hotspot for environmental influences on classroom behavior (left map, in red). A similar pattern is seen for income inequality (right map).

TEDS

The researchers discovered that London was a hotspot for environmental influences on classroom behavior (left map, in red). A similar pattern is seen for income inequality (right map).

The data comes from the Twins Early Development Study, which has followed more than 5,000 pairs of twins from birth over the last 16 years. Researchers tracked a number of factors for each child, including school performance, behavior problems, mood and attention disorders, and weight. By comparing the variation between children with genetic differences, they were able to figure out how genes and environment relate to each factor.

When they plotted the data on a map, they saw clear geographic patterns. "You can see areas where the variation is explained by genes, and areas where it's explained by the environment," says Davis.

In some areas, Davis says, "the environment is such that it draws out the genetic differences between people." In other places, it appears that environmental factors overpower the influence of genes.

For instance, the researchers found that variation in classroom behavior between kids was better explained by environmental factors in London. It also seemed to match the higher variation in incomes in London; they saw this when they compared their map to a map of income inequality.

It's not enough to prove that high income inequality directly influences classroom behavior, but it suggests directions for future research.

Davis says the maps will help experts to figure out who might be at risk, and then mitigate those risks. "The really cool thing about doing it visually like this is it makes it easy to bring in experts from a variety of fields," he says.

The maps may not be very useful to the general public ? but they are pretty. If you're so inclined, you can download an interactive version as a software package from the Twins Early Development Study website.

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