ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2011) ? Scientists at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute and Yale University have identified a new target area in the human genome that appears to harbor genes with a major role in the onset of depression.
Using the power of Texas Biomed's AT&T Genomics Computing Center (GCC), the researchers found the region by devising a new method for analyzing thousands of potential risk factors for this complex disease, a process that led them to a new biomarker that may be helpful in identifying people at risk for major depression.
"We were searching for things in psychiatric disease that are the equivalent of what cholesterol is to heart disease," said John Blangero, Ph.D., director of the GCC and a principal investigator in the study. "We wanted to find things that can be measured in everybody and that can tell you something about risk for major depression."
The study was directed by Blangero and David Glahn, Ph.D., of Yale University. It was published online in October in the journal Biological Psychiatry and supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Major depressive disorder is one of the most common and most costly mental illnesses. Studies have estimated that up to 17 percent of Americans will suffer depression at some point in their lives. The disorder has proven to be a tough challenge for geneticists. Despite strong evidence that people can inherit a susceptibility to major depression, years of study have failed to locate any of the key genes that underlie the illness.
The scientists used blood samples from 1,122 people enrolled in the Genetics of Brain Structure and Function Study, a large family study that involves people from 40 extended Mexican American families in the San Antonio area.
Blangero and his colleagues looked at more than 11,000 endophenotypes, or heritable factors, and searched for the ones that were linked with the risk of major depression. They found that disease risk correlated most strongly with expression levels of a gene called RNF123, which helps regulate neuron growth.
Once they found this risk factor, further analysis directed scientists to an area on chromosome 4 containing genes that appear to regulate RNF123.
Because the RNF123 expression levels can be measured relatively easily in the blood, this finding could lead to a way of identifying people at risk for major depressive disorder, Blangero said.
"We might be able to know in advance that a person will be less able to respond to the normal challenges that come about in life," he said. "Then doctors may be able to intervene earlier after a traumatic life event to remove some of the debilitation of depression."
The study also shows the potential for using this method of analyzing a multitude of heritable traits as a way to zero in on disease-causing gene variants.
The research capitalized on the newest 'deep sequencing' technology that enables Texas Biomed scientists to search through more genetic variables. The GCC has 8,000 linked computer processors that are capable of analyzing millions of genetic variables drawn from thousands of research subjects.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Texas Biomedical Research Institute.
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David C. Glahn, Joanne E. Curran, Anderson M. Winkler, Melanie A. Carless, Jack W. Kent, Jac C. Charlesworth, Matthew P. Johnson, Harald H.H. G?ring, Shelley A. Cole, Thomas D. Dyer, Eric K. Moses, Rene L. Olvera, Peter Kochunov, Ravi Duggirala, Peter T. Fox, Laura Almasy, John Blangero. High Dimensional Endophenotype Ranking in the Search for Major Depression Risk Genes. Biological Psychiatry, 2011; DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.08.022
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
In this photo provided by Michigan Humane Society, Petey, a Jack Fussell terrier, is photographed at the Michigan Humane Society's Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care in Rochester Hills, Mich. on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011 The Michigan Humane Society says Petey had been missing since July from his home in the Tennessee community of Erin. The 4-year-old dog was being picked up Wednesday by a Michigan Humane Society volunteer who planned to drive him home. The dog had been brought to the Michigan Humane Society's Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care, where he was scanned for a microchip. (AP Photo/Michigan Humane Society)
In this photo provided by Michigan Humane Society, Petey, a Jack Fussell terrier, is photographed at the Michigan Humane Society's Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care in Rochester Hills, Mich. on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011 The Michigan Humane Society says Petey had been missing since July from his home in the Tennessee community of Erin. The 4-year-old dog was being picked up Wednesday by a Michigan Humane Society volunteer who planned to drive him home. The dog had been brought to the Michigan Humane Society's Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care, where he was scanned for a microchip. (AP Photo/Michigan Humane Society)
In this photo provided by Michigan Humane Society, Petey, a Jack Fussell terrier, is photographed at the Michigan Humane Society's Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care in Rochester Hills, Mich. on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011 The Michigan Humane Society says Petey had been missing since July from his home in the Tennessee community of Erin. The 4-year-old dog was being picked up Wednesday by a Michigan Humane Society volunteer who planned to drive him home. The dog had been brought to the Michigan Humane Society's Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care, where he was scanned for a microchip. (AP Photo/Michigan Humane Society)
In this photo provided by Michigan Humane Society, Aaron Jerome, a Michigan Humane Society staffer , holds Petey, a Jack Fussell terrier, at the Michigan Humane Society's Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care in Rochester Hills, Mich. on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011 The Michigan Humane Society says Petey had been missing since July from his home in the Tennessee community of Erin. The 4-year-old dog was being picked up Wednesday by a Michigan Humane Society volunteer who planned to drive him home. The dog had been brought to the Michigan Humane Society's Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care, where he was scanned for a microchip. (AP Photo/Michigan Humane Society)
Petey jumps to get a treat from Aaron Jerome, a Michigan Humane Society staff member, at the Michigan Humane Society's Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care in Rochester Hills, Mich. on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011. The Michigan Humane Society says Petey had been missing since July from his home in the Tennessee community of Erin. The 4-year-old dog was being picked up Wednesday by a Michigan Humane Society volunteer who planned to drive him home. The dog had been brought to the Michigan Humane Society's Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care, where he was scanned for a microchip. (AP Photo/The Detroit News,, Todd McInturf ) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT, NO MAGS, NO SALES, NO TABS, MANDATORY CREDIT
DETROIT (AP) ? Jim Arrighi last saw Petey, his 4-year-old Jack Russell terrier, in the backyard of his home in Erin, Tenn.
That was in July, and the 73-year-old retired electrician had nearly given up on seeing his pet again when he learned the dog turned up safe about 500 miles away in suburban Detroit.
A Michigan Humane Society volunteer was expected to return Petey to Arrighi on Thursday morning.
"This is just a little town and everybody is buzzing about it," said Arrighi's daughter, Tyanne Morrison.
Most of Erin's roughly 7,000 residents know one another, and many of them would recognize Petey, which is why Arrighi, Morrison and their friends suspect he was pooch-napped by an out-of-towner.
Morrison believes Petey left his yard "and somebody picked him up."
"We searched. We knew someone had gotten him," she told The Associated Press by phone on Wednesday. "We got on 4-wheelers and went all over the area. There had been some more dogs over the last few months that were missing."
While struggling with the loss of his dog, Arrighi also lost his wife, Juanita, who suffered from pulmonary disease and died Oct. 12.
"Since my mother passed away, even I told him 'why don't we go to the pound to give a home to a puppy that don't have a home,'" Morrison said.
Last week, a homeowner in Rochester Hills, about 20 miles north of Detroit, saw Petey in his backyard and took him to a Humane Society animal care center.
As it does with every recovered dog and cat, the Michigan Humane Society scanned Petey for an implanted microchip, which led the organization to its owner, spokesman Kevin Hatman said.
Arrighi, who has been staying at Morrison's home since his wife died, was thrilled to receive the call, she said.
"He thinks my mother, who is in heaven, sent the dog back to him," Morrison said.
She said their local veterinarian likely recommended Petey get a microchip.
"It was only about $70 total," Morrison said. "Now, a lot of people are inquiring about it."
In September, an implanted microchip helped an animal control agency in New York City locate the owners of Willow, a calico cat who turned up on a Manhattan street after going missing five years ago in Colorado.
The Michigan Humane Society recommends that all pet dogs and cats get microchips implanted, in addition to making sure they have collars and identification tags.
"It's wonderful when we see microchip reunions, including those that seem like miracles," said Marcelena Mace, shelter manager at the Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care. "It really proves that no matter how far your pet may travel, a microchip can help him find his way home."
Microchips, which also are implanted in pet cats, are about the size of a grain of rice and typically injected near the animal's shoulder blade, said Adam Goldfarb, director of pet care issues with the Washington, D.C.-based Humane Society of the United States.
The chips do not have their own power sources and only can be found and read with a scanner.
"In the last few years there has been a real jump in microchip usage, especially in animal shelters," Goldfarb said. "There are not nearly as many that should be microchipped. Sometimes owners are not great in registering their animals with microchip companies or updating their home information."
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Does your ISP supply your antivirus software? If so, especially if you're in Europe, you may well be using F-Secure without knowing it. F-Secure is the power behind branded security protection for over 200 ISP partners, and these versions may not look anything like F-Secure Anti-Virus 2012 ($39.99 direct for three licenses). F-Secure Anti-Virus retains the previous edition's clean and simple interface and significantly enhances DeepGuard behavior-based detection. In testing, though, DeepGuard was almost as likely to block a valid program as a malicious one.
F-Secure's main window breaks down protection into three areas: status, tasks, and statistics. Status shows the current state of protection, lets you turn whole sections of the product on or off, and provides access to more detailed settings. Statistics offers a simple display of what the program has done for you in the areas of malware cleanup, email scanning, and blocking of suspicious programs. From the tasks pane you can launch a scan or update, restore files from quarantine, or release an application that's been blocked by DeepGuard.
For all its apparent simplicity, F-Secure is busy, busy, busy under the hood. A local database called the hive coordinates process information from all of the product's components, among them the cloud-based signature detection, local detection, and DeepGuard behavioral detection. This sharing of data lets the various components work efficiently and avoid redundancy.
Installation Tribulation So how well does this highly-coordinated set of components clean up malware? I installed it on twelve infested test systems to find out. The actual installer is a tiny program that downloads the very latest components for installation. I was slightly surprised to find that after installation the program required another lengthy download to get the latest signature definitions. When fully ready, F-Secure runs a quick scan for active malware. This scan found quite a few threats and in several cases requested an updated to clean them up.
Getting F-Secure installed and running wasn't always easy. On one system the installation wouldn't finish. A second try required use of a special uninstall tool. When the installer failed again I tried the standalone F-Secure Easy Clean. Similar to Norton Power Eraser (Free, 4 stars), this tool is designed to clean up persistent malware that interferes with the full F-Secure product.
I also had to use Easy Clean on several systems that couldn't complete the initial update. In one case I had to resort to F-Secure's text-mode Rescue CD. When that didn't help, tech support advised running a command-line scanner in Safe Mode. I eventually got F-Secure properly installed on all twelve test systems, but it was a chore.
If you meander on down to the Apple store this morning, you'll spot some nice little spec bumps to the MacBook Pro range -- without any increase to the prices. For a start, you can now splash out on a faster AMD Radeon HD 6770M discrete GPU with your 15-inch or 17-inch lappie. Even better, there are some CPU improvements to be had: the 13-incher gets the option of a 2.8GHz Core i7 or a 2.4GHz Core i5 dual-core processor, instead of the previous entry-level 2.3GHz i5 (and it also gets its HDD notched up to a minimum 500GB, or max 750GB). The 15-incher now goes up to a quad-core 2.4GHz i7 -- the same speedy processor that comes in the updated 17-inch variant. Oh, the cost/benefit dilemmas.
In Brazil, Vanguarda Agro is moving out of biodiesel and shifting its focus solely to agriculture. It has recently sold a biodiesel refinery in Rosario do Sul and a vegetable-oil extraction plant in Rio Grande do Sul state to rivals Camera Agroalimentos for $33 million. The facility is currently idle as it didn?t receive any contracts for production during the government auction in August.
Finally, the Gingerbread update for the HTC ThunderBolt (that'd be the one we told you about this morning) is once again pushing out. This is the second time Gingerbread's headed to the ThunderBolt; it was pulled earlier because of some bugs, including by not limited to voicemail.
Go to settings>software update to get things going, and hit the forums link below to see how it's going for everybody.
NEW YORK ? Forget style, quality and customer service. This holiday season, all that matters is price.
A week before Halloween and two full months before Christmas, stores are desperately trying to outdo each other in hopes of drawing in customers worn down by the economy.
Wal-Mart, the biggest store in the nation, joined the price wars Monday by announcing that it would give gift cards to shoppers if they buy something there and find it somewhere else cheaper.
Staples and Bed Bath & Beyond have already said they will match the lowest prices of Amazon.com and other big Internet retailers. Sears is going a step further, offering to beat a competitor's best price by 10 percent.
"The days of marketing the stuff in your store because it was a hot brand are over," says Dave Ratner, owner of Dave's Soda & Pet City, a Massachusetts pet food and supplies chain.
For the holidays, Ratner plans to offer 20 percent off pet accessories if customers buy a bag of dog food. Customers, he says, just want a deal.
Almost four years after the onset of the Great Recession, they've learned to expect one, too. In better times, retailers could afford to keep prices higher and use promises of higher quality and better service to lure people into stores.
Those days are over. In a recent poll of 1,000 shoppers by America's Research Group, 78 percent said they were more driven by sales than they were a year ago. During the financial meltdown in 2008, that figure was only 68 percent.
Wal-Mart last year went back to its "everyday low prices" roots, a bedrock philosophy of founder Sam Walton, rather than slashing prices only on certain items to draw in customers. Now everyday low prices might not be low enough.
So it's trying something it is calling the Christmas Price Guarantee. It works this way: If you buy something at Wal-Mart from Nov. 1 to Dec. 25 and find the identical product elsewhere for less, you get a gift card in the amount of the difference.
The deal excludes online prices and some categories of merchandise ? groceries, live plants, tobacco, prescription drugs and wireless devices that require a service agreement.
But it is good even if weeks pass between your purchase and spotting the better deal. And it applies even to big items like TVs, for which prices can drop steeply as Christmas approaches.
Duncan MacNaughton, chief merchandising officer for Wal-Mart's U.S. stores, told reporters Monday that he has noticed "much more promotional intensity and gimmicks" among competitors.
"This gives customers peace of mind that we are an advocate for them," he said.
Toys R Us' big book of holiday offers will be packed this year with $8,000 of savings, compared with $5,600 last year, said Bob Friedland, a company spokesman. And it has added an incentive this year: If customers who sign up for its loyalty program spend $200 or more during the holiday season, they will get coupons on toys every month next year.
Retailers are responding to a customer base that is better informed, and more comfortable shopping online, than ever.
Jenna Wahl, a cardiac nurse from Bloomington, Ind., said she expects to spend about as much on holiday gifts this year as last ? roughly $500 ? but will try to get more for her money.
She'll be asking stores to do more price-matching and plans to use her iPhone to check prices and download coupons.
"I will take things back in order to get the better deal," she said.
Wal-Mart left online prices out of its Christmas offer, but other stores have decided they may not have that luxury. Staples, for example, is leaving it to the discretion of its store managers to decide whether to match online prices.
Sears' offer of beating a competitor by 10 percent will not apply to retailers that only do business online, such as Amazon, but will apply to prices that its brick-and-mortar competitors offer on their websites.
The holiday price wars mark an acceleration of a trend that has already swept the retail industry. Lowe's, the nation's No. 2 home improvement store, said in August it was starting to focus on everyday low prices for items that customers can easily comparison-shop at rivals like Home Depot and Sears.
And J.C. Penney, the department store chain, said earlier this month that it plans to overhaul its pricing strategy starting in February. So far, it has kept the details a secret.
Wal-Mart stepped up its price matching in April by directing store employees to comb through competitors' advertisements so price matches at the register would be easier.
It has matched prices on the spot for several years ? meaning that if you already have a lower price from a competitor, Wal-Mart will match it. But that price match did not apply when customers discovered a lower price later.
In a survey of roughly 1,000 customers by Citi Investment Research & Analysis, shoppers also indicated it would take deeper discounts to get them to buy. Two-thirds said it would take 30 to 50 percent off to entice them to buy, compared with a little more than half last year.
Amazon, which typically beats its competitors on prices anyway, does not appear to be backing down this time, either.
"We will have our hands on every Black Friday circular we can find so that we can meet or beat advertised deals on the products we carry," said Sally Fouts, an Amazon spokeswoman.
Undated artist rendering provided by EADS Astrium shows the scientific satellite Rosat. The German Aerospace Center said the retired satellite is hurtling toward the atmosphere and pieces could crash into the earth as early as Friday. Spokesman Andreas Schuetz told The Associated Press on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011 that most of the satellite named ROSAT, which is about the size of a minivan, will burn up during re-entry. (AP Photo/EADS Astrium)
Undated artist rendering provided by EADS Astrium shows the scientific satellite Rosat. The German Aerospace Center said the retired satellite is hurtling toward the atmosphere and pieces could crash into the earth as early as Friday. Spokesman Andreas Schuetz told The Associated Press on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011 that most of the satellite named ROSAT, which is about the size of a minivan, will burn up during re-entry. (AP Photo/EADS Astrium)
BERLIN (AP) ? A defunct satellite entered the atmosphere early Sunday and pieces of it were expected to crash into the earth, the German Aerospace Center said.
There was no immediate solid evidence to determine above which continent or country the ROSAT scientific research satellite entered the atmosphere, agency spokesman Andreas Schuetz said.
Most parts of the minivan-sized satellite were expected to burn up during re-entry, but up to 30 fragments weighing 1.87 tons (1.7 metric tons) could crash into Earth at speeds up to 280 mph (450 kph).
Scientists were no longer able to communicate with the dead satellite and it must have traveled about 12,500 miles (20,000 kilometers) in the last 30 minutes before entering the atmosphere, Schuetz said.
Experts were waiting for "observations from around the world," he added.
Scientists said hours before the re-entry into the atmosphere that the satellite was not expected to hit over Europe, Africa or Australia. According to a precalculated path it could have been above Asia, possibly China, at the time of its re-entry, but Schuetz said he could not confirm whether the satellite actually entered above that area.
The 2.69-ton (2.4 metric ton) scientific ROSAT satellite was launched in 1990 and retired in 1999 after being used for research on black holes and neutron stars and performing the first all-sky survey of X-ray sources with an imaging telescope.
The largest single fragment of ROSAT that could hit into the earth is the telescope's heat-resistant mirror.
During its mission, the satellite orbited about 370 miles (600 kilometers) above the Earth's surface, but since its decommissioning it has lost altitude, circling at a distance of only 205 miles (330 kilometers) above ground in June for example, the agency said.
Even in the last days, the satellite still circled the planet every 90 minutes, making it hard to predict where on Earth it would eventually come down.
A dead NASA satellite fell into the southern Pacific Ocean last month, causing no damage, despite fears it would hit a populated area and cause damage or kill people.
Experts believe about two dozen metal pieces from the bus-sized satellite fell over a 500-mile (800 kilometer) span of uninhabited portion of the world.
The NASA climate research satellite entered Earth's atmosphere generally above American Samoa. But falling debris as it broke apart did not start hitting the water for another 300 miles (480 kilometers) to the northeast, southwest of Christmas Island.
Earlier, scientists had said it was possible some pieces could have reached northwestern Canada.
The German space agency puts the odds of somebody somewhere on Earth being hurt by its satellite at 1-in-2,000 ? a slightly higher level of risk than was calculated for the NASA satellite. But any one individual's odds of being struck are 1-in-14 trillion, given there are 7 billion people on the planet.
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Online:
The German space agency on ROSAT: http://bit.ly/papMAA
Bret Bielema made the right call but Wisconsin lost, so many fans aren't thrilled with the coach the day after the Badgers' first defeat of the season.
Tommy Tuberville reverted to his Riverboat Gambler instincts a few too many times in Texas Tech's upset of Oklahoma, but his team won so the Red Raiders coach has far fewer critics.
Let's review.
The college football season finally had its first shake-up Saturday, with Wisconsin and Oklahoma slipping to the back of the pack in the national championship race. The Badgers lost 37-31 to Michigan State on a miracle 44-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the game. The Sooners fell behind by 24 points against Texas Tech and their rally fell short in a 41-38 loss.
Bielema is taking heat from some Badgers fans for his decision to call timeouts during Michigan State's last drive.
"The debate began in the press box, after Bielema called the second timeout with 30 seconds left and the Spartans facing third and 8 from their 36, and likely will continue until UW faces Ohio State. I understood the call," Jeff Potrykus of the Journal Sentinel in Milwaukee wrote on his Badgers blog. "The reporter sitting next to me did not."
And the readers who posted comments were generally on the side of the reporter who did not, but Bielema should not be blamed.
Wisconsin stopped the clock with 42 seconds remaining after Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins fumbled and the ball was recovered by the Spartans at their own 24 for a 10-yard loss.
"We were going for the win," Bielema explained afterward.
And you can't win without the ball.
Knowing Michigan State was facing a second-and-20, calling the timeout forced the Spartans to try to get the first down. So Bielema accomplished two things: Michigan State now had to throw the ball deep in its own end, increasing the chances for a turnover that could set up the Badgers for a win. And if Michigan State couldn't convert, it would have to punt, giving Wisconsin a shot at a block or a big return.
There was no reason for Wisconsin to concede and let Michigan State control the last 42 seconds. Overtime in college, with each team taking possession 25 yards away from the end zone, is too much of a crap shoot and the odds were on the Badgers' side that the worst-case scenario would be overtime.
The second timeout came after a 12-yard pass to B.J. Cunningham set up Michigan State with a third-and-8 at the 36 with 30 seconds left.
Problem was Michigan State converted on the next play for a first down to its 47. The Spartans completed one more pass to get to the Wisconsin 44 and called their own timeout with 10 seconds left.
The next play was incomplete and the next ended up being the play of the season ? a desperation heave by Cousins that bounced off Cunningham's helmet and into the arms of Keith Nichol, who barely pushed across the goal line for the winning score. Michigan State came away with a well-deserved victory because it had played a good game against a very good team, but the winning play was a fluke. Neither the Spartans nor the Badgers need to apologize for that.
Tuberville, however, would have had some serious explaining to do if his Red Raiders had lost.
With Texas Tech up 31-14 in the third quarter, Tuberville passed on a 23-yard field-goal attempt and went for it fourth-and-1 at the 6 when he should have been padding his lead.
Later in the third, with Texas Tech facing fourth-and-4 at its own 41 and leading 31-17, Tuberville called for a fake punt that didn't work. Again, the Red Raiders were giving the lagging Sooners life.
In the end it all worked out for Texas Tech and Tuberville could smile if asked about some of those moves and simply say, `We won.'
It won't be so easy for Bielema to defend himself.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
If former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach can't land another college gig, maybe he could become a full-time author.
Leach's first book, an autobiography called "Swing Your Sword," came out right before the football season and at last check was No. 38 among Amazon.com's best-selling sports books.
Leach has another book available called "Sports For Dorks. He co-authored that one with Ferhat Guven, a real estate investor and graduate of Texas Tech and the London Business School.
Leach is keeping busy but he wants to get back into college football. Unless his lawsuit against Texas Tech, which fired him after he was accused of mistreating a player, gets in the way, there should be opportunities.
Arizona is already open and UCLA's Rick Neuheisel seems to be on his way out. Leach always seemed as if he would be a good fit in the Pac-12 with his wide-open offense and atypical ? for a football coach ? interests.
Another possible spot is Mississippi if the Rebels part ways with Houston Nutt
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QUICK HITS
_Penn State coach Joe Paterno reached another milestone, earning his 408th win to tie Hall of Famer Eddie Robinson for the most in Division I history. More importantly, the 84-year-old's Nittany Lions are 7-1 and 4-0 in the Big Ten. Penn State's last four games are tough ? Illinois, Nebraska, at Ohio State and at Wisconsin ? but JoePa has a spot in the first Big Ten championship in his team's control.
_Southern California receiver Robert Woods is second in the nation in catches (72) and yards receiving per game (128.86). He was the difference ? along with Notre Dame's turnovers ? in the Trojans' 31-17 victory in South Bend, Ind. Lots of good receivers around, but none better than the USC sophomore.
? If the Big 12 isn't stable enough for Missouri to stay, why is it a step up for West Virginia or Louisville? That's the message Big East Commissioner John Marinatto should be conveying to the Mountaineers and Cardinals.
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LOOKING AHEAD
No. 10 Kansas State, the most surprising undefeated team this season, hosts No. 11 Oklahoma. If Wildcats coach Bill Snyder can win this one, Kansas State can legitimately start sizing up its chances to play for a national championship.
No. 6 Clemson puts its unbeaten record on the line against ACC rival Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have lost two straight after a 6-0 start.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at http://Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
Baltimore, MD (October 23, 2011) ? Jake Smith?s Baltimore Boxing Promotions will host a special charity card ?Boxing For Boobs? Friday, November 11 at the Du Burns Arena in Baltimore.
Tickets to ?Boxing for Boobs? are available on Baltimoreboxing.com or by calling 410-375-9175 or 443-848-6059.
The card is stacked with amateur bouts between the Beltway area?s top young fighters along with a full evening of entertainment including music, food, drinks, silent auctions, raffles and special giveaways. All boxers will receive trophies for their dedication to the sport and a percentage of the proceeds are being donated to the American Breast Cancer Foundation.
?This is going to be a special night without question,? said Smith, a former fighter who has promoted both pro and amateur cards. ?I?m glad to be teaming up with the American Breast Cancer Foundation while doing all that I can to help them knock out breast cancer. We?re expecting a sellout crowd on November 11 without question.?
General admission is only $20 and VIP tickets are on sale for $50. All VIP ticket holders can enjoy catered food from Palmeres prior to the first bout of the evening. Doors open at 6:30 pm and the first bout is scheduled for 8 o?clock.
About the American Breast Cancer Foundation:
The American Breast Cancer Foundation (ABCF) was established in 1997 as a way for people to have access to early detection and a chance for survival. Each year, we receive thousands of calls from women and men in need of our help. Approximately 50 percent of those callers will already have symptoms of breast cancer.
The American Breast Cancer Foundation is able to provide financial assistance and hope when all seems lost. We are the only national breast cancer organization providing direct financial assistance to uninsured and underserved individuals for the screening, diagnosis, treatment and survival of breast cancer. The ABCF Key to Life Breast Cancer Assistance Program provides beast cancer patients with financial assistance for support items such as emergency treatment, wigs, prostheses and medications. Critical information and referral services are provided to support patients and their families.
To best serve all populations throughout the United States Spanish speaking staff and third party translation services are available to accommodate most languages. ABCF supports research for innovative diagnostic, treatment and patient support methods through leading medical institutions.
The American Breast Cancer Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization guided by a volunteer board of directors. We invite you to join in our mission to give hope to every person threatened by breast cancer. Every act, every gift and every person can make a difference.
LONDON ? Even as Scotland's separatist leader kicked off his party's independence campaign Saturday, he also floated a compromise option which would fall short of his cherished goal of full separation from the United Kingdom.
It's a proposal that's been described as "Independence Lite" ? something which would give Scots control of all their affairs except foreign policy and defense, which would still be run out of London. First Minister Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National Party, gave an ambiguous endorsement. On the one hand he called it a "legitimate proposal," on the other hand he told supporters gathered for a party conference in the city of Inverness on Saturday that the move was "not enough."
So why propose it?
Scottish independence is a central goal of Salmond's Party, which received a big boost in May when the nationalists won an unprecedented majority in Scotland's parliament.
But while many Scots support the nationalists, a significant number still baulk at a full divorce from England, to which it was attached by the Act of Union more than 300 years ago. Survey figures vary, but in recent years most have suggested that fewer than half of all Scottish voters would choose independence in a straight "yes or no" referendum.
Given that Salmond's party has pledged to put the question of independence to the public within the next few years, commentators have suggested that having a middle option might be a way of winning more power away from London ? and salvaging a political victory ? even if most Scots rejected full independence.
In his speech to party stalwarts, Salmond made his preferred option clear, warning Scots that if they chose the middle road they could still be on the hook for Britain's military adventures.
"We could still be forced to spill blood in illegal wars like Iraq, and Scotland would still be excluded from the Councils of Europe and the world," he said.
Scotland already enjoys broad autonomy in domestic matters such as justice, education, housing and health.
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Online:
Scottish National Party: http://www.snp.org/
(This version corrects day to Saturday in paragraphs 1-2.)
WASHINGTON ? Michele Bachmann's moment came and went. Chris Christie was a no-show. Rick Perry faded. Now folks are waiting for the Herman Cain boomlet to go bust. Could it be that Republican voters are done speed-dating and ready to go steady with Mitt Romney?
Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and other what-about-me candidates are hoping that the meh-about-Mitt crowd may still be ready to check out someone else.
It's been that kind of year, after all, with first one candidate and then another capturing the party's attention ? for a time.
Remember when Bachmann surged to victory in the Iowa straw poll? When Christie's big tease that he might join the race captivated the party? When Perry still pulsed with Texas swagger?
Why not check out me next? the long-shot candidates reason.
After all, Santorum has been looking tough lately, Gingrich has turned in some thoughtful debate performances, Ron Paul's got a new ad blitz, and Jon Huntsman's pushing hard in New Hampshire.
And Romney, even with a big bump in his favorability ratings of late, still hasn't been able to generate much enthusiasm among GOP voters.
Republican strategist Mark McKinnon thinks GOP voters will "keep on looking right up until prom night."
"They like shopping around and the alternatives to Romney in theory, but when it gets to be more than just about lunch, the voters so far have been disappointed and let down," McKinnon says.
The idea that Republicans may still be willing to look around is what motivates Santorum, Huntsman and other candidates who are polling in the single digits to head out the door each morning to yet another town hall, Rotary club or fundraiser. They're vigorously challenging the top-tier candidates, sniping at President Barack Obama and keeping the debate stages crowded.
"I don't need a poll to tell us that we're moving up," Huntsman enthuses in New Hampshire.
Gingrich, who's kept his focus trained on what he considers Obama's shortcomings, has a new ad offering himself as "the right candidate at just the right time."
Paul is plowing $2 million into early primary state ads that dismiss his GOP rivals as big spenders beholden to Wall Street.
Santorum, whose tough talk has made him stand out in recent debates, is questioning Cain's credentials as a true conservative. And Perry, hoping to regain his stride, has been particularly aggressive in going after Romney in recent debates.
But Cain, whose popularity surged in recent weeks, isn't ready to cede the spotlight ? even if he's been widely dismissed as just the latest "flavor of the month."
Cain's comeback: "Haagen-Dazs black walnut tastes good all the time."
Huntsman, a former Utah governor, and Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, are the only two GOP candidates who remain unknown to large numbers of Republicans, and that means they've got the widest opening to change opinions.
So it's sort of good news that 53 percent of Republicans don't have an opinion about Huntsman, and 48 percent don't have an opinion about Santorum.
Just about everybody's already got an opinion about Gingrich, by contrast. But the former House speaker has made some headway recently in shifting people from the negative to positive column.
Democratic strategist Bob Shrum, a veteran of multiple presidential campaigns, thinks Cain is destined to fade. The former pizza executive and his 9-9-9 tax plan have been coming under tough scrutiny since voters sent his stock rising.
But Shrum throws cold water on the idea that any of the GOP also-rans will be the next big thing, supplanting Cain.
"There are very limited outcomes here," Shrum says. "If Perry gets a bounce in the next week or two, then he's alive again and he could become a real alternative.
"In the absence of that," says Shrum, "Romney has to be the nominee ? unless the party completely loses its mind."
___
Associated Press writer Philip Elliott and Deputy Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.
___
Nancy Benac can be reached at http://twitter.com/nbenac.
CANBERRA, Australia ? A great white shark killed an American recreational diver on Saturday in a third fatality in recent weeks off southwest Australia that has shaken beach-loving residents and sparked fears of a rogue predator targeting humans.
Australia averages fewer than two fatal shark attacks a year nationwide.
The state government has promised to hunt the killer and is considering more aircraft surveillance off west coast beaches as whales migrating in larger numbers attract more sharks.
The first sign that the 32-year-old American man, whose name and hometown have not been released, was in trouble as he dived alone was when a stream of bubbles erupted on the ocean surface beside his 25-foot (8-meter) dive boat, police said.
His two horrified companions on the boat saw his lifeless body surface and a 10-foot (3-meter) great white swim away, Western Australia Police Sgt. Gerry Cassidy said.
The shark struck 500 yards (meters) north of the picturesque tourist haven of Rottnest Island, which is 11 miles (18 kilometers) west of a popular Perth city beach where a 64-year-old Australian swimmer is believed to have been taken by a great white on Oct. 10.
Authorities cannot say whether the American was killed by the same shark that is believed to have taken Bryn Martin as he made his regular morning swim from Perth's Cottesloe Beach toward a buoy about 380 yards (350 meters) offshore.
But an analysis of Martin's torn swimming trunks recovered from the seabed near the buoy pointed to a great white shark being the culprit. No other trace of Martin has been found.
"It's a cloudy old day today which is the same as we had the other day with Cottesloe, and they're the conditions that sharks love," Cassidy said.
The American had a work visa and had been living in a Perth beachside suburb north of Cottesloe for several months.
The tragedies follow the death on Sept. 4 of 21-year-old bodyboarder Kyle Burden, whose legs were bitten off by a shark described as 15 feet (4.5 meters) long at a beach south of Perth. Witnesses were unsure of the type of shark.
Perth, the capital of Western Australia state and one of Australia's largest cities, is renowned for its white sand beaches, but the best surfing locations are further south in the wine region of Margaret River.
While great whites trail the migration of whales between Antarctic and northwest Australian waters, the west coast has not been widely regarded as a shark danger zone for humans.
Premier Colin Barnett, the leader of the state government, took charge of the official response on Saturday, telling reporters that the shark will be hunted and killed if possible.
He said fisheries officers will spread bait in the area of the attack to try to catch the shark.
While great whites are protected under Australian law, Barnett said his government would consider increasing the numbers of other sharks that commercial fishermen can catch, following reports that shark numbers have increased.
He said his government was also looking at increasing aerial shark patrols over popular beaches.
"I think all West Australians need to take special care in going to the beach and swimming, particularly if they go diving," he said.
Barnett said he did not expect the fatalities would damage the state's tourism reputation or diminish people's enjoyment of the beaches.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2011) ? Society could save millions of crowns each year if more children were fitted with fixed braces. This is shown in unique studies performed by Sofia Petr?n, a dentist and orthodontic specialist at the Section for Orthodontics at Malm? University.
Calculations indicate that at least ten percent of all eight- and nine-year-olds in Sweden have so-called crossbite.
This means that the children's upper and lower jaws are different in width and do not line up against each other when they bite their jaws together. If this problem is not corrected, the children can experience pain in the jaw, facial muscles, and jaw joints. Their face can also become asymmetrical.
In randomized studies, Sofia Petr?n investigated four methods of treatment: fixed appliance (Quad Helix), removable appliance (expansion plate), composite construction on the molars of the lower jaw, and no action in the hope that the problem will straighten itself out. A total of 70 children were involved in the four groups.
The results show that neither the composite construction nor no action has any effect on crossbite. The other two treatments are effective, both in the short and long term, but the fixed appliance yielded clearly superior results.
"The fixed braces entail that the children are treated 24 hours a day. The removable plate means that the children need the help of their parents, and it happens that they forget it sometimes, which affects the outcome of treatment," says Sofia Petr?n.
There's a big difference in the cost of the various treatment methods, both direct and indirect, according to Sofia Petr?n, who arrived at these results in her dissertation Correction of Unilateral Posterior Crossbite in the Mixed Dentition, submitted to the Faculty of Dentistry at Malm? University .
The fixed appliance is also the cheapest. Sofia Petr?n compared the costs, both direct and indirect, and found that society could save SEK 32 million per year if all children with unilateral crossbite were treated with fixed braces. Part of the difference is due to the fact that children who are treated with removable appliances sometimes need to be treated again because the treatment failed.
But even if all treatments with removable appliances were successful, the annual cost would still be more than SEK 12 million compared with fixed braces.
"Today both treatments are equally common in clinics, but I maintain we should use the method that works best, has a lasting effect, and is most cost-effective."
Even though braces have been used for more than 100 years, the scientific evidence for different treatments is very patchy, something that SBU, the Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment, drew attention to in a 2005 report.
Sofia Petr?n's dissertation fills a major gap in our knowledge that will probably lead to changes in treatment routines. The finding that children's bite problems do not sort themselves out spontaneously means that county councils that postpone treatment to save money will be facing even higher costs in the long run.
"When children are treated in their teens, the treatment is more complicated and costly," says Sofia Petr?n, who wants to study how children's quality of life is affected during and after treatment.
Thesis.
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NASA, NOAA data show significant Antarctic ozone hole remainsPublic release date: 20-Oct-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Steve Cole stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov 202-358-0918 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
WASHINGTON -- The Antarctic ozone hole, which yawns wide every Southern Hemisphere spring, reached its annual peak on Sept. 12. It stretched to 10.05 million square miles, the ninth largest ozone hole on record. Above the South Pole, the ozone hole reached its deepest point of the season on Oct. 9, tying this year for the 10th lowest in this 26-year record.
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use balloon-borne instruments, ground-based instruments and satellites to monitor the annual Antarctic ozone hole, global levels of ozone in the stratosphere and the manmade chemicals that contribute to ozone depletion.
"The colder than average temperatures in the stratosphere this year caused a larger than average ozone hole," said Paul Newman, chief scientist for atmospheres at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Even though it was relatively large, the area of this year's ozone hole was within the range we'd expect given the levels of manmade ozone-depleting chemicals that continue to persist in the atmosphere."
The ozone layer helps protect the planet's surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Ozone depletion results in more incoming radiation that can hit the surface, elevating the risk of skin cancer and other harmful effects.
"The manmade chemicals known to destroy ozone are slowly declining because of international action, but there are still large amounts of these chemicals doing damage," said James Butler, director of NOAA's Global Monitoring Division in Boulder, Colo.
In the Antarctic spring (August and September) the sun begins rising again after several months of darkness and polar-circling winds keep cold air trapped above the continent. Sunlight-sparked reactions involving ice clouds and manmade chemicals begin eating away at the ozone. Most years, the conditions for ozone depletion ease before early December when the seasonal hole closes.
Levels of most ozone-depleting chemicals in the atmosphere have been gradually declining as the result of the 1987 Montreal Protocol, an international treaty to protect the ozone layer. That international treaty caused the phase-out of ozone-depleting chemicals, which had been used widely in refrigeration, as solvents and in aerosol spray cans.
However, most of those chemicals remain in the atmosphere for decades. Global atmospheric computer models predict that stratospheric ozone could recover by midcentury, but the ozone hole in the Antarctic will likely persist one to two decades longer, according to the latest analysis in the 2010 Quadrennial Ozone Assessment issued by the World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environment Programme, with co-authors from NASA and NOAA.
NASA currently measures ozone in the stratosphere with the Dutch-Finnish Ozone Monitoring Instrument, or OMI, on board the Aura satellite. OMI continues a NASA legacy of monitoring the ozone layer from space that dates back to 1972 with launch of the Nimbus-4 satellite. The instrument measured the 2011 ozone hole at its deepest at 95 Dobson units on Oct. 8 this year. This differs slightly from NOAA's balloon-borne ozone observations from the South Pole (102 Dobson units) because OMI measures ozone across the entire Antarctic region.
That satellite-monitoring legacy will continue with the launch of NASA's National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project, known as NPP, on Oct. 28. The satellite will carry a new ozone-monitoring instrument, the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite. The instruments will provide more detailed daily, global ozone measurements than ever before to continue observing the ozone layer's gradual recovery.
It will take a few years of averaging yearly lows in Antarctic ozone to discern evidence of recovery in ozone levels because seasonal cycles and other variable natural factors -- from the temperature of the atmosphere to the stability of atmospheric layers -- can make ozone levels dip and soar from day to day and year to year.
NOAA has been tracking ozone depletion around the globe, including the South Pole, from several perspectives. NOAA researchers have used balloons to loft instruments 18 miles into the atmosphere for more than 24 years to collect detailed profiles of ozone levels from the surface up. NOAA also tracks ozone with ground-based instruments and from space.
###
For the updates on the status of the Antarctic ozone layer, visit:
http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov
For more information on the Antarctic ozone hole, visit:
http://www.ozonelayer.noaa.gov
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
NASA, NOAA data show significant Antarctic ozone hole remainsPublic release date: 20-Oct-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Steve Cole stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov 202-358-0918 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
WASHINGTON -- The Antarctic ozone hole, which yawns wide every Southern Hemisphere spring, reached its annual peak on Sept. 12. It stretched to 10.05 million square miles, the ninth largest ozone hole on record. Above the South Pole, the ozone hole reached its deepest point of the season on Oct. 9, tying this year for the 10th lowest in this 26-year record.
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use balloon-borne instruments, ground-based instruments and satellites to monitor the annual Antarctic ozone hole, global levels of ozone in the stratosphere and the manmade chemicals that contribute to ozone depletion.
"The colder than average temperatures in the stratosphere this year caused a larger than average ozone hole," said Paul Newman, chief scientist for atmospheres at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Even though it was relatively large, the area of this year's ozone hole was within the range we'd expect given the levels of manmade ozone-depleting chemicals that continue to persist in the atmosphere."
The ozone layer helps protect the planet's surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Ozone depletion results in more incoming radiation that can hit the surface, elevating the risk of skin cancer and other harmful effects.
"The manmade chemicals known to destroy ozone are slowly declining because of international action, but there are still large amounts of these chemicals doing damage," said James Butler, director of NOAA's Global Monitoring Division in Boulder, Colo.
In the Antarctic spring (August and September) the sun begins rising again after several months of darkness and polar-circling winds keep cold air trapped above the continent. Sunlight-sparked reactions involving ice clouds and manmade chemicals begin eating away at the ozone. Most years, the conditions for ozone depletion ease before early December when the seasonal hole closes.
Levels of most ozone-depleting chemicals in the atmosphere have been gradually declining as the result of the 1987 Montreal Protocol, an international treaty to protect the ozone layer. That international treaty caused the phase-out of ozone-depleting chemicals, which had been used widely in refrigeration, as solvents and in aerosol spray cans.
However, most of those chemicals remain in the atmosphere for decades. Global atmospheric computer models predict that stratospheric ozone could recover by midcentury, but the ozone hole in the Antarctic will likely persist one to two decades longer, according to the latest analysis in the 2010 Quadrennial Ozone Assessment issued by the World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environment Programme, with co-authors from NASA and NOAA.
NASA currently measures ozone in the stratosphere with the Dutch-Finnish Ozone Monitoring Instrument, or OMI, on board the Aura satellite. OMI continues a NASA legacy of monitoring the ozone layer from space that dates back to 1972 with launch of the Nimbus-4 satellite. The instrument measured the 2011 ozone hole at its deepest at 95 Dobson units on Oct. 8 this year. This differs slightly from NOAA's balloon-borne ozone observations from the South Pole (102 Dobson units) because OMI measures ozone across the entire Antarctic region.
That satellite-monitoring legacy will continue with the launch of NASA's National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project, known as NPP, on Oct. 28. The satellite will carry a new ozone-monitoring instrument, the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite. The instruments will provide more detailed daily, global ozone measurements than ever before to continue observing the ozone layer's gradual recovery.
It will take a few years of averaging yearly lows in Antarctic ozone to discern evidence of recovery in ozone levels because seasonal cycles and other variable natural factors -- from the temperature of the atmosphere to the stability of atmospheric layers -- can make ozone levels dip and soar from day to day and year to year.
NOAA has been tracking ozone depletion around the globe, including the South Pole, from several perspectives. NOAA researchers have used balloons to loft instruments 18 miles into the atmosphere for more than 24 years to collect detailed profiles of ozone levels from the surface up. NOAA also tracks ozone with ground-based instruments and from space.
###
For the updates on the status of the Antarctic ozone layer, visit:
http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov
For more information on the Antarctic ozone hole, visit:
http://www.ozonelayer.noaa.gov
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy gave birth to a baby girl today. Sarkozy and Bruni-Sarkozy?s baby is the first born to a ruling French leader since Napoleon. President [...]
If you thought there were tons of to-do app options for Mac, meet the iPhone. You could fill pages with all your different choices. We've tested plenty and Wunderlist was an easy favorite thanks to its focused feature set, great syncing capabilities, cross-platform support, good looks, and $0 price tag.
Syncs with the Wunderlist web app and any other copies of Wunderlist you're running on other platforms (such as Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, or Blackberry)
Share lists with friends to collaborate on tasks
Add notes to tasks to provide additional details
Easily organize tasks through drag and drop
Assign deadlines to tasks
Filter views help you break down your tasks by status and date
Star important tasks
Add tasks via email
Choose from several themes to personalize Wunderlist
Much like its Windows and Mac counterparts, Wunderlist is an excellent to-do list app that focuses on the features you need to manage your tasks and doesn't bother with much else. You can create multiple lists, add tasks to those lists (or just add them), sort by due date and priority, add notes for context, and check items off when you're done. Tasks can also be added via email and everything syncs with Wunderlist's servers. Because Wunderlist is available on practically every platform, including the web, you can easily access your to-dos from anywhere.
Tagging tasks would be a welcome feature in Wunderlist, and now that most to-do apps are location-aware it wouldn't hurt to add that as well. That said, there's little to complain about. Wunderlist works very well.
Wow. There are a ton of excellent to-do apps on the iPhone. While Wunderlist is a very solid choice that will handle the needs of most people, you should absolutely check out these alternatives because they're all pretty great and may suit your specific needs a bit better.
If you've upgraded to iOS 5, you now have a built-in app called Reminders which is a very simple to-do list app that can make use of your location to remind you when you're near a task you have to complete. It's also capable of creating standard to-dos with deadlines. If you don't like Apple's built-in location-aware option, ReQall (Free), Tasker ($3) and TaskAware ($10) are alternatives.
For those of you who like notebook-style, well-design to-dos, you'll want to look at EgretList ($3) is a pretty great option. It allows you to attach relevant media to your tasks and even includes faux-sticker packs that can be used to indicate what kind of item you're adding. It syncs with Evernote so you can access your list from practically any desktop platform or the web. 2Do ($7) offers a similar experience, but with a more professional look (rather than the fun, personal style of Egretlist).
If you're looking for simple-syncing options, Toodledo ($3) is worth a look. You can add tasks, sort them easily, create locations reminders, and sync with Toodledo.com. Another similar, long-time favorite is Remember the Milk (Free-ish). You can use the app to remind you or you can have it send you emails, text messages, and more to make sure you do not forget anything ever again. It syncs with RememberTheMilk.com, of course, and offers push notifications, smart lists, task prioritization, and plenty of other features (some of which are premium and require a subscription, by the way).
When you're aiming for simplicity and minimalism, TeuxDeux ($3) is the app you're going to want. You just add items by day (or under the "Someday" header) and that's about it. It keeps things extra simple so all you have to worry about is adding tasks.
Lastly we have Things ($10) and OmniFocus ($20), which make up for the pricier side of the to-do apps. Like their Mac OS X counterparts, they concentrate on the Getting Things Done (GTD) system. If you need a solid GTD app, both of these are great choices.
Got a favorite we missed? Share it in the comments!
Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.
You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook. ?Twitter's the best way to contact him, too.
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Public release date: 20-Oct-2011
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If you thought there were tons of to-do app options for Mac, meet the iPhone. You could fill pages with all your different choices. We've tested plenty and Wunderlist was an easy favorite thanks to its focused feature set, great syncing capabilities, cross-platform support, good looks, and $0 price tag. 
