Who health - HEALTH, BEAUTY & FITNESS

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Source: http://curryrecipe-jp.net/health-2/who-health/

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Upbeat Swedish PM eyes corporate tax cut

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's center-right prime minister backed a cut in corporate tax on Saturday for his Nordic state as it defies the gloom of the euro zone.

The economy grew 1.4 percent in the second quarter and the government has said it might have to revise up its forecast for expansion of 1.1 percent this year. In contrast, a recession is possible in the euro zone.

Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said a cut in corporate tax was necessary to remain competitive.

"We know that it (corporate tax) plays a big role in where companies put their production and investments," he told reporters ahead of a traditional summer speech on priorities.

He declined to give any figures for the size of the corporate tax cut from the current level of 26.3 percent, which compares with an average 22.9 percent in the European Union.

Newspaper Svenska Dagbladet cited sources as saying the government planned to reduce the tax rate to 24 percent at a cost to the budget of 6.3 billion crowns ($939.22 million). Reinfeldt declined to comment on the report.

The government has already flagged a corporate tax cut to compensate companies for changes in rules to reduce the amount of tax deductible on interest payments. Reinfeldt said the corporate tax cut he was envisaging should be "even bigger".

Personal income tax levels have in Sweden been amongst the highest in the world, while corporate tax levels have been closer to international standards.

Reinfeldt also called in an open letter to his three partners in the coalition to form working groups later this year and early in 2013 to draw up joint policies and a manifesto ahead of the 2014 election.

Though Reinfeldt led the coalition to a second straight victory in 2010, the government lost its majority after an anti-immigrant party entered parliament for the first time.

The minority government has struggled in parliament and caution over the euro zone crisis, despite the solid economic performance, has meant it has not been able to carry out more of its income tax cuts, which have been Reinfeldt's hallmark policy measure in the high tax nation.

Opinion polls also show the government behind the center-left opposition, led by the former long-ruling Social Democrats. ($1 = 6.7077 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Johan Sennero and Patrick Lannin; editing by Ron Askew)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/upbeat-swedish-pm-eyes-corporate-tax-cut-132025370--business.html

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Community adopts deceased Filer man's exotic pets

Jana Gould feeds her camel, Humphery, at her home near Buhl, Idaho on Aug. 3, 2012. Gould of Buhl is now the proud owner of a camel and a zedonk, a cross between a donkey and a zebra. ?They're a little mean, the zedonk has an attitude and the camel is getting old,? she said. ?But they grew up together and they can't be separated. They're buddies, so they were a packaged deal.?(AP Photo/Times-News,Ashley Smith) MANDATORY CREDIT

Jana Gould feeds her camel, Humphery, at her home near Buhl, Idaho on Aug. 3, 2012. Gould of Buhl is now the proud owner of a camel and a zedonk, a cross between a donkey and a zebra. ?They're a little mean, the zedonk has an attitude and the camel is getting old,? she said. ?But they grew up together and they can't be separated. They're buddies, so they were a packaged deal.?(AP Photo/Times-News,Ashley Smith) MANDATORY CREDIT

Jana Gould's camel, Humphery, and zedonk, Zena, bask in the sun at her home near Buhl, Idaho on Aug. 3, 2012. Gould is now the proud owner of a camel and a zedonk, a cross between a donkey and a zebra. ?They're a little mean, the zedonk has an attitude and the camel is getting old,? she said. ?But they grew up together and they can't be separated. They're buddies, so they were a packaged deal.?(AP Photo/Times-News,Ashley Smith) MANDATORY CREDIT

FILER, Idaho (AP) ? When Hobie Peterson first learned that his father was a proud owner of a camel, he didn't even flinch.

And when Harold Peterson acquired a zedonk, a buffalo, a kangaroo along with a few more exotic pets, Hobie just rolled with it.

"Nothing would surprise me with him," he said. "So when he first started taking on these animals, it wasn't that unusual."

On July 1, Harold Peterson died after fighting a long battle with multiple sclerosis. The Filer resident grew up ranching and farming in the community with his wife, Jeanette, and two sons, Hal and Hobie. However, it was his soft spot for animals that sparked an interest in taking care of something a little more flamboyant than a cow.

"He grew up on a farm and that's where he raised and ran horses," Hobie said. "When he couldn't do that anymore, he switched his race horses and rodeo stock to exotic animals."

The interest in the exotic quickly turned into entertaining collection that was impossible to hide. Soon, Harold was showing off his odd menagerie in local parades and county fairs. While out at events, he would use his collection to raise money for Filer High School and local nonprofits.

He also opened up his home for the public to visit his animal collection. It wasn't unusual for schools to stop by for a fieldtrip or for a Boy Scout troop to swing by to snap a photo with Humphrey the camel.

"People loved his exhibits at the fair," said Bonnie Seaman, office manager of the Twin Falls County Fair. "He was well loved by everyone."

But as Harold's health slowly deteriorated, taking care of the animals started to become too much of an arduous chore. So starting close to three years ago, Hobie began helping his parents find new homes for the animals.

They ended up butchering the buffalo but gave the goats to a hired hand, Hobie said. The deer and many of the other animals went to friends or professional animal caregivers.

Finding a new home for the animals wasn't difficult though, he said. Over the years, Harold had made friends and connections across the state and even across the country. This made it easy to find potential new homes for the exotic collection.

For example, close Peterson friend, Shari Hart, briefly took in a young wallaby for several months. The miniature kangaroo was immediately named Wally-B-Roo.

"I knew Harold for years," she said. "So when they asked me if I could take care of this little guy, of course I said yes."

Once Shari adopted Wally, she purchased and designed pouches for it to snuggle in. He would travel with her to community events and draw a small crowd from interested onlookers wanting a peek of the adorable marsupial.

"I can certainly say he was one of the most interesting pets I've ever owned," Shari said. "I eventually had to give him up because he was getting too big for the house. I miss him but he's in a happy place right now."

For others who adopted from Harold's collection, taking on just one animal wasn't an option.

Jana Gould of Buhl is now the proud owner of a camel and a zedonk ? a cross between a donkey and a zebra.

"They're a little mean, the zedonk has an attitude and the camel is getting old," she said. "But they grew up together and they can't be separated. They're buddies, so they were a packaged deal."

Janna said she was interested in purchasing the animals but it was her friendship with Harold that sealed the deal.

Harold's Filer house is now sold and Hobie moved his mom, Jeanette, to live closer with him in Nampa. However, the memory of Harold's fun but eccentric animal assortment still lives on.

"My family knew him for years but it seems like everyone knew him one way or the other," Janna said. "He was a great guy. I'm blessed to have known him."

___

Information from: The Times-News, http://www.magicvalley.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/IDIDF/da3fe38944e7455284f48031646191ec/Article_2012-08-18-Exotic%20Animals/id-5acd4f703986446c955ee9308ad98793

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Advertising | Why Hiring an SEO and PPC Consultancy Can Benefit ...

There?s no doubt about it; internet marketing is a big business nowadays, and never before has it been so prevalent. There are many reasons for this surge too, largely the current global economic climate and also the huge number of ways we can now all access the internet ? from smartphones, tablets and laptops.

With the ease of internet access so prominent in today?s society, it?s no wonder so many businesses are putting their money into internet marketing services like SEO and PPC.

By choosing the right seo consultant, ppc consultant, or both, you give your business the best possible chance of success and increased profits. Many people would attempt to take control of things themselves but with a consultancy you get an expert team of people who have valuable experience, skills and know-how to get your website ranked higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).

After all, this is the main aim of SEO and PPC techniques, and getting it right from the start means that there?s no chance of wasting your money and getting things wrong. Plus, it will allow you to focus your valuable time on your business, while someone else takes care of everything.

If you are worried about hiring a ppc consultant because you want to track progress yourself, then you simply needn?t. You will get sent monthly or weekly reports, depending on which service plan or package you choose, and will be kept up to date with any changes that are made to your account. If you decide to take SEO with the same company too, then you?ll also be assigned your own expert copywriter to produce blog posts and articles to place on the web that coincide with your relevant keywords or search terms.

It?s a good idea to take SEO and PPC together with the same company, as it means both departments can work together, and quickly implement changes and collaborate to meet your individual needs. If you decide to hire a seo consultant separately, information must be shared between the two agencies to get good results.

A good SEO and PPC consultancy will also be able to advise you on other important and useful internet marketing tips, and can even offer you extra services too. One of these services is social media marketing. This is a fantastic way in which you can develop a brand identity, communicate with your target market, and even rank higher on SERPs.

Sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn provide free platforms in which to do this, and a consultancy will help you get everything started. A lot of companies also offer a Content or Copywriting service now too, which can help you produce quality website content which will make a huge difference to your business.

You will be assigned a professional writer who can create engaging copy for all your pages, and make everything more readable. You will be liaised with throughout both of these processes too, ensuring that your company objectives and overall essence are represented in a way that you are happy with.

Visit for more Info : http://www.broadplace.com/

Article Source:?http://www.bharatbhasha.net
Article Url: http://www.bharatbhasha.net/advertising.php/387888

Article Added on Sunday, August 19, 2012

Other Articles by Rob Smith

?Highlight your business on Google with the PPC technique The internet is the very definition of a crowded marketplace, and it?s very difficult for smaller and medium-sized companies to compete with the giants that have long established their places at the head of the search engine rankings. Therefore, these smaller companies have to employ professionals who have the knowledge, experience and equipment to give them an edge over their rivals. While you won?t get the technical expertise you need to conduct your own online marketing campaigns, it can... ?How To Successfully Promote Your Website Through SEO Search Engine Optimisation, commonly shortened to SEO is an integral part of any internet marketing scheme. Getting your business or page ranked higher in search results is one of the best ways to get traffic through your website and your brand name out there. Search Engine Optimisation can really make a difference in your website's development as so many people these days use sites like Google as their first port of call when trying to find information or services. There are many internet... ?The Top Ways to Beef Up the Traffic to Your Business Website Are you happy with the amount of traffic you are getting to your business website? If the answer is no you can consider getting better traffic through the methods revealed in this article. Every webmaster wants to get as much traffic to their website as possible. It doesn?t matter whether they are looking to get clicks on their adverts or to make sales or find new clients. In every respect they need to get traffic to their pages, otherwise there is less chance of making any sales or getting... ?Companies increasing their Online Advertising budget The annual benchmark study released by EConsultancy has just been issued for 2011 and it makes for very interesting reading. It reveals that many companies are planning to increase their spending on various forms of online advertising. As per the study, 44% of people surveyed for the report stated that their SEO budget looked set to rise by as much as 20% in the coming year. Out of everyone surveyed only 7% saw any need to decrease their spending in this area in the next twelve... ?Is Pay Per Click a Good Traffic Generation Option for Your Business Pay per click is a common way of generating more traffic to a wide variety of websites on the internet. Otherwise known as PPC for short, this method can be undertaken by businesses of all shapes and sizes. It has significant advantages over other paid methods of advertising, but it helps to have a large degree of knowledge about how it works. Without this knowledge it can be difficult and long winded to get the results you really want. So how does PPC work? Well, the main thing to remember... ?What can an SEO company do for my business s website The internet has opened up a world of possibilities for businesses who think that, by having their own websites, they can get their products and services out online so more people will become aware of them and they can attract heaps of new customers, therefore making more money and launching them onto bigger and better things. In theory, this is a good plan, and the internet does make you more visible and accessible to a wider range of people. Unfortunately, everyone else has had the same... ?How To Get The Most Out of Your TV If you are thinking of joining Sky then you can rest assured that you are following the choice that millions of other customers have made without looking back. Sky is known for offering great prices on packages and deals for broadband internet, landline telephone and digital television services. With Sky you can always avail of some fantastic offer or other, especially thanks to available Sky Offer Codes When you decide to sign up to Sky for their television service if you want to benefit... ?Google Webmaster Tools Crawl Errors Fix It Pretty much all websites will have crawl errors of one kind or another. These are errors with your site that Google spotted when they crawled it. Not only should you be aware of what these errors are, you should also know how to fix the most common of them. Errors can easily creep into the thousands if your site is reasonably large. They can fall into the following areas: Errors in sitemaps Restricted by robots.txt Soft 404 errors Timed out Not found, i.e. the page someone was trying... ?Use Of Twitter As A Lead Generation Tool Twitter is offered as just a part of a social media marketing agency. They will be able to provide a range of social media with updates and clever marketing strategies in order to promote your business or product. In today?s modern society the power of online has never been greater. In the last ten years and due to the economic climate circumstances have certainly changed. We have tended to focus on more traditional media such as newspapers and magazines in order to get noticed. However,... ?Can You Save Money By Using Sky Offer Codes Sky is one of the leading providers of broadband, television services and even telephone services in the UK. But even if you are aiming to sign up for their services it makes sense to see where you can save money on them. This article gives advice on this matter. Sky offers a wide range of services that are tempting for many households to consider. While some people still get their television, broadband and telephone services from different providers, many more get them all in one bundle...

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Arterpillar: Renda Writer: The Writing's on the Wall opens Aug. 23

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Source: http://arterpillar.blogspot.com/2012/08/renda-writer-writings-on-wall-opens-aug.html

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VA Loan Limits for 2012 for Homes in Washington

Aug 17, 2012 by Rhonda Porter

VA has issued Circular 26-12-7 increasing loan limits for VA loans closed through the end of the year in the following Washington state counties:

King, Pierce and Snohomish: $498,750

San Juan: $470,000

All other counties remain at $417,000

This means that in King County, a qualified Veteran can finance a home with zero down with a sales price up to $498,750. ?With that said, some lenders are still reviewing this recent change and are evaluating whether or not they will recognize the new increase or keep loan limits are their current level.?

Any sales price/loan amount above this amount is considered a "VA Jumbo". ?VA does not have a loan limit for VA jumbos, however most lenders have "overlays" limiting loan amounts for VA Jumbos. ?VA Jumbos allow the Vet to buy a home with reduced down payment. A simple formula to estimate the minimum down payment required is sales price minus loan amount x 25% = minimum down payment.

Right now, as of publishing this post, I'm quoting 3.375% for a sales price of $400,000 (apr?3.557) with zero down payment. The seller can pay closing cost and prepaids up to 4% of the sales price. There is no mortgage insurance, however VA loans do have a funding fee which can be financed.

If you are selling a home, please consider buyers who are preapproved for VA financing. It's a great program benefiting those who have served our country.

Source: http://www.mortgageporter.com/2012/08/va-loan-limits-from-august-6-2012-to-december-31-2012.html

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Where We?re Going, We Need Roads

Brown posing after a charity basketball game in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Photo by David Weigel.

QUINCY, Mass.?Elizabeth Warren is in the right place, next to the hole in the highway. She exits an SUV and chats excitedly, one by one, with the construction and ironworkers who?d been waiting there for the photo op. It?s Aug. 14, and the foreman explains what?s being dug: a new road underneath the highway, one that will unchoke the traffic that flows down I-93 from Boston, a project monitored from the foreman?s trailer.

?How do you get any work done?? says Warren. ?I?d just want to watch this all day!?

Warren tells the workers that she?d been watching the highway project since she ?saw the model laid out? in a Quincy municipal building. ?Quite frankly,? says Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, ?none of the project would be possible without the help of the stimulus.?

A dozen reporters stand, digital recorders extended, to capture a conversation about public-private spending that has the rhythm, wordiness, and can-you-believe-this giddiness of the late-night infomercial for juice machines that comes on after you pass out during Real Housewives of Atlanta. Warren is thrilled, just thrilled. ?The program I?ve put together,? she tells Koch, ?is more effective in reducing the deficit than Scott Brown?s program of not focusing on investments and infrastructure. It?s really about priorities.?

For a few months?they seemed like years?the race for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts was completely disconnected from the economy. In April, the conservative Boston Herald scooped that Harvard University, where Warren taught law, once listed her as a ?minority? faculty member. Reporters became amateur genealogists, seeking out records that could validate Warren?s claim to be a 1/32^nd member of the Cherokee Nation. The Herald?s headline department cranked out classics like ?Arrows May Fell Warren in Fall? and ? ?Pow Wow? Factor.? Republicans wanted the swing voter to see Warren as an entitled, elitist carpetbagger. This story should?ve done it.

But it didn?t. When the Cherokee story wound down, Warren remained tied in the polls with Brown. A Suffolk University survey found most voters believing Warren?s version of the story and even more voters unable to give a damn about it. Democrats picked Warren to give a prime-time speech at the national convention. Then came Mitt Romney?s pick of Paul Ryan. The unexpectedly silly Senate race is all of a sudden about stimulus spending and Medicare and taxes.

You could tell just by watching Scott Brown. On Aug.13, the incumbent?s only public event was a charity basketball game in Springfield for a mentoring program called A Path to Manhood. On the front of the $10 ticket: A photo of Brown spinning a basketball on his thumb as preteens gaze at his awesomeness.

On the court, it was even better for Brown. The other politicos on the charity teams swapped out frequently and struggled to get to the net. Rep. Richard Neal?a Democrat, like everyone not named Brown in the Massachusetts delegation?made an early run at the basket, threw a brick, and quickly found his way to the bench. ?Basketball!? laughed the announcer when another politician stumbled over the ball. ?It?s basketball!?

Brown stayed on the court for all but two minutes of the game. He was constantly in motion and got fouled four times?more than all of the other players combined. He missed one foul shot and let out a gut-deep ?AAGGGNNH-AGGH!? Moments later, when he sank a three-pointer, he ran past the bleachers (and attending photographers), grinning wide and holding up three fingers.

As a photo-op, it was perfect. As a press event, it was tougher to control. Local reporters insisted on asking Brown about the Ryan choice, which put him in a spot, because he opposed Ryan?s budget when it got to the Senate. ?I think the corporate tax rate needs to be cut, but I don't know if 25 percent is the number,? Brown told reporters. ?While we don't agree [with Ryan] on everything, I certainly appreciate his efforts to bring budgetary issues to the forefront.?

Brown?s just-a-regular-dude appeal is one of his biggest assets. It sets off audible rage alarms whenever you mention it to a Democrat. On Tuesday, when Warren is asked whether Brown?s ultra-physical events put her at a disadvantage, she theorizes that for Brown, ?the point is to be out and visible in a way where he doesn?t have to talk about the issues or take any questions.?State Democratic Party Chairman John Walsh, in an interview at his office, made sneering references to Brown?s image, accusing him of ?hanging up the barn coat and putting on a nice tuxedo? when he got to Washington.

There?s a trauma behind the gripe. Democrats underestimated Brown in 2010. Attorney General Martha Coakley, groomed for higher office, sleep-walked through the election until she panicked and tried, too late, to get the state?s Democratic machines humming, after Brown had already worked the state in his photo-op friendly pickup truck

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=053e81f62c2709e7e4cb9345b22f1303

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Dozens die in illegal mine shaft collapse in Congo

By NBC News wire services

KINSHASA, Congo -- At least 60 miners were killed when a shaft collapsed in a remote part of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where local armed groups complicated rescue efforts, officials said Thursday.

The local miners were digging for gold in shafts up to 300 feet underground when the accident occurred on Monday in Mambasa territory in Orientale Province, said Simon Pierre Bolombo, the provincial head of mines.

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He said the collapse had been caused by a landslide.

"It was deep in the forest, there was a landslide, at least 60 people have been killed," Bolombo told Reuters by telephone from the town of Bunia in northeast Congo.

The eastern region of Congo has been suffering from drenching rain in recent days, prompting a visit by U.N.?humanitarian?chief?Baroness Valerie Amos.

Illegal mine
Congo's minister of mines, Martin Kabwelulu, told Reuters the workers were there illegally and that their shafts were deeper than the 32-yard limit required by the code for small-scale mining.

The area where the mine is situated is currently in the hands of a local rebel group -- known as Mai Mai Morgan -- which will likely hamper any rescue efforts, Bolombo said.

"(The mine) is controlled by the rebels. ... There's almost total insecurity, it's difficult for us (to reach)," he added.

Mining companies AngloGold Ashanti and Randgold operate in the region, which is known to be rich in tin and gold, although the accident did not take place on either company's concession, officials said.

PhotoBlog:?Congo crisis exacerbated by heavy rains

'Conflict minerals'
Congo, a vast country in central Africa, is mired in poverty. The country has been scarred by decades of dictatorship and war. Many Congolese try to eke out a living through small-scale mining, a dangerous and unregulated practice.

Accidents are common in open-pit mines, where there are few if any safety precautions. Hundreds of thousands of people work in unsafe conditions, some of them forced to mine by some of the armed groups and government soldiers who illegally profit from Congo's massive mineral resources.

More Africa coverage on NBCNews.com

Armed groups across eastern Congo use illegal and small-scale mining to help fund their activities, despite international attempts to stamp out so-called "conflict minerals."

Push for cleanly sourced minerals
A report this week by the?Washington-based Enough Project that ranked?companies on conflict minerals said leading tech companies have proven it is possible to invest in cleanly sourced minerals from Congo that benefit local communities instead of armed groups.?

PhotoBlog:?South Africa mine protest continues amid fatalities

The report praised?Intel, Motorola Solutions, HP and Apple as "pioneers of progress," but gave Nintendo zero points for making "no known effort."

Companies have been responding to U.S. legislation demanding clean supply chains and to increasing consumer activism.

Complete World coverage on NBCNews.com

The group also gave high points to Philips, ACER, Dell and Microsoft. Among poor performers it ranks HTC, Sharp, Nikon and Canon. They could not immediately be reached for comment.

Reuters and The Associated Oress contributed to this report.

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

?

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/16/13314615-dozens-killed-when-landslide-causes-illegal-mine-shaft-to-collapse-in-congo?lite

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Evolutionary increase in size of the human brain explained

Public release date: 16-Aug-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dan Meyers
dan.meyers@ucdenver.edu
303-724-5377
University of Colorado Denver

Research links part of a protein to rapid change in cognitive ability

Researchers have found what they believe is the key to understanding why the human brain is larger and more complex than that of other animals.

The human brain, with its unequaled cognitive capacity, evolved rapidly and dramatically.

"We wanted to know why," says James Sikela, PhD, who headed the international research team that included researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine and the National Institutes of Mental Health. "The size and cognitive capacity of the human brain sets us apart. But how did that happen?"

"This research indicates that what drove the evolutionary expansion of the human brain may well be a specific unit within a protein called a protein domain -- that is far more numerous in humans than other species."

The protein domain at issue is DUF1220. Humans have more than 270 copies of DUF1220 encoded in the genome, far more than other species. The closer a species is to humans, the more copies of DUF1220 show up. Chimpanzees have the next highest number, 125. Gorillas have 99, marmosets 30 and mice just one. "The one over-riding theme that we saw repeatedly was that the more copies of DUF1220 in the genome, the bigger the brain. And this held true whether we looked at different species or within the human population."

Sikela, a professor at the CU medical school, and his team also linked DUF1220 to brain disorders. They associated lower numbers of DUF1220 with microcephaly, when the brain is too small; larger numbers of the protein domain were associated with macrocephaly, when the brain is too large.

The findings were reported today in the online edition of The American Journal of Human Genetics. The researchers drew their conclusions by comparing genome sequences from humans and other animals as well as by looking at the DNA of individuals with microcephaly and macrocephaly and of people from a non-disease population.

"The take home message was that brain size may be to a large degree a matter of protein domain dosage," Sikela says. "This discovery opens many new doors. It provides new tools to diagnose diseases related to brain size. And more broadly, it points to a new way to study the human brain and its dramatic increase in size and ability over what, in evolutionary terms, is a short amount of time."

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?

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.

Public release date: 16-Aug-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dan Meyers
dan.meyers@ucdenver.edu
303-724-5377
University of Colorado Denver

Research links part of a protein to rapid change in cognitive ability

Researchers have found what they believe is the key to understanding why the human brain is larger and more complex than that of other animals.

The human brain, with its unequaled cognitive capacity, evolved rapidly and dramatically.

"We wanted to know why," says James Sikela, PhD, who headed the international research team that included researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine and the National Institutes of Mental Health. "The size and cognitive capacity of the human brain sets us apart. But how did that happen?"

"This research indicates that what drove the evolutionary expansion of the human brain may well be a specific unit within a protein called a protein domain -- that is far more numerous in humans than other species."

The protein domain at issue is DUF1220. Humans have more than 270 copies of DUF1220 encoded in the genome, far more than other species. The closer a species is to humans, the more copies of DUF1220 show up. Chimpanzees have the next highest number, 125. Gorillas have 99, marmosets 30 and mice just one. "The one over-riding theme that we saw repeatedly was that the more copies of DUF1220 in the genome, the bigger the brain. And this held true whether we looked at different species or within the human population."

Sikela, a professor at the CU medical school, and his team also linked DUF1220 to brain disorders. They associated lower numbers of DUF1220 with microcephaly, when the brain is too small; larger numbers of the protein domain were associated with macrocephaly, when the brain is too large.

The findings were reported today in the online edition of The American Journal of Human Genetics. The researchers drew their conclusions by comparing genome sequences from humans and other animals as well as by looking at the DNA of individuals with microcephaly and macrocephaly and of people from a non-disease population.

"The take home message was that brain size may be to a large degree a matter of protein domain dosage," Sikela says. "This discovery opens many new doors. It provides new tools to diagnose diseases related to brain size. And more broadly, it points to a new way to study the human brain and its dramatic increase in size and ability over what, in evolutionary terms, is a short amount of time."

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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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-08/uocd-eii081612.php

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Video: As drought intensifies, Missouri drills for water

>> of the reasons the fire season has been so bad, the extreme drought that has much of the country in its grip. government forecasters say dry conditions will likely last through november in many areas from the west to the plains, midwest, and south. the lack of rain has some states taking extreme measures to get water where it's needed.

>> reporter: with no relief from above, they're now digging underground for water. it's part of a statewide emergency program to dig new wells for missouri farmers and ranchers like michelle christerpherson. her pastures are parched. she has been struggling to keep her 100 cattle fed and hydrated.

>> you don't like to see your live stock just walk up and die on you.

>> reporter: 95% of the state is suffering extreme levels of drought. those areas suffering the most jumped from roughly 14% to more than 35%. with fields withering and ponds drying up --

>> two inches of rain total.

>> reporter: farmer rusty lee has already lost much of his squash and corn crop and stands to lose more if he doesn't get help.

>> we'd be lost without that new well.

>> reporter: his current well just does not have the capacity to irrigate all of his 75 acres, forcing tough choices.

>> to try to keep some crops you'd have to sacrifice some. this is one of the fields that were sacrificed.

>> we need water quick. some of these people can't wait. they've been out of water for a while and it's just desperate.

>> reporter: so far more than 3700 missouri farmers have been approved for a new well. under the emergency program the state will pay up to 90% of the cost. farmers already cash strapped to pay for the rest. michelle christerpherson will have to take out a loan to pay the $12,000 for her new well but the sound of drilling is music to her ears. this is what you've been praying for.

>> that and a little rain.

>> reporter: after drilling 540 feet, one of her prayers was answered.

>> we have water. yes.

>> reporter: finding a fix means this rancher may now have a fighting chance. nbc news, truxton, missouri .

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/48708168/

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Security guard shot at conservative group's DC office

An armed man walked into the Washington headquarters of the Family Research Council and shot a security guard, according to authorities. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

By NBC's Pete Williams

Updated at 4:15 p.m. ET: A gunman who shot a security guard Wednesday at the Family Research Council office in Washington, D.C., was carrying a handgun and several additional rounds of ammunition, federal investigators told NBC News.?

Washington, D.C., police say the man, in his late 20s, walked into the headquarters of the conservative Christian lobbying group around 10:45 a.m. When challenged by the security guard, the gunman shot the guard in the arm.

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He was then detained by other guards, and both district police and the FBI responded.? He was taken into custody by FBI agents. The FBI will have jurisdiction if the incident turns out to be a hate crime.

The suspect?s name has not been released, but two law enforcement officials told NBC News he is Floyd Corkins, 28,?from nearby Herndon, Va.

Another official said the suspect?bought the gun used in the shooting five days ago.

The FBI said the security guard is being treated in the hospital and "doing OK."

"The security guard, you know, was a hero in this case,"?Jacqueline Maguire,?FBI Washington Field Office spokeswoman, said at a?Wednesday afternoon briefing.?"And he did an excellent job of stopping the gunman from getting any further into the building and from anyone else getting injured or shot by him."

Maguire said she could not go into details of the incident.

One law enforcement official told NBC News it's fairly clear the Family Research Council was the man's target, though the FBI has yet to specify either a motive or the target of the attack.

Federal officials said the suspect was carrying a backpack containing materials related to Chick-fil-A restaurants.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council sent an e-mail to members last month in support of comments by the restaurant chain's president, Dan Cathy, who criticized same-sex marriage.

The comments touched off a public clash. Supporters on "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" on Aug. 1 flooded the chain's franchises around the country and? was countered with "kiss-ins" by same-sex couples at assorted locations Aug. 3.

Two federal officials said the suspect appeared to be mentally disturbed.

In a statement, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said, "The police are investigating this incident. Our first concern is with our colleague who was shot today. Our concern is for him and his family."

On its website, FRC, founded in 1983,?says it advocates "faith, family and freedom in public policy and public opinion."?

NBC News' Andrew Mach contributed to this story.

More content from NBCNews.com:

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/15/13298020-security-guard-shot-at-conservative-groups-dc-office?lite

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The Legal Intelligencer Blog: NPE: The Scarlet Letters of Patent ...

By Anthony S. Volpe
Special to the Legal

The continuing outrage against patent owners deemed nonpracticing entities (NPEs, aka trolls) appears to be part of our schizophrenia over wanting an economy dominated by creative business types and hating the creative business models that foster that domination. It now appears that there are further factures in what should be deemed a bad NPE and what should be considered a good NPE. In a recent congressional hearing, there were distinctions made among patent owners that just buy patents, patents owners that may have done research for some patents and may buy other patents and university research that produces patents that are commercialized by technology transfer departments.

This same division over what should be done with patent portfolios finds its way into many commercial situations. Consider the growing swell of criticism for Kodak?s failure to monetize its patent portfolio before going into bankruptcy. If Kodak had exploited its patent portfolio against commercial entities making products that were not produced by Kodak, would it have been an NPE for those assertions or a creative company that found a way to monetize its patent portfolio and recapture some of its investment in research? Some argue that Kodak and its assertion targets were not competitors, so Kodak, in those circumstances, is acting as an NPE. Others argue that even if Kodak and its assertion targets were not competitors, Kodak has an obligation to shareholders to return value on the money spent on research, regardless of whether it makes an actual product that incorporates the patented technology. Others argue that Kodak is still an NPE because it does not fit the university model of pure research for the educational value of the work, and it cannot hide behind its commercial research efforts. Similar situations present themselves when Google buys Motorola Mobility patents or the Rockstar consortium ? Apple, Microsoft, Rim, Ericsson and Sony ? buys the Nortel patents.

Many of the same entities that complained about NPEs are now in the same category if the classification for the category is based on the patent owner not producing the product covered by the patent or patents. See the Rockstar website. What all of this really means is that the term is poorly defined and the definition depends on which side you are at a given time.

What seems to be lost in the debate is the fact that patents are property that was developed at a cost to someone. The availability of a market for that someone to recover that cost or even profit is what drives the research in many of the smaller entities that cannot sustain large research budgets. As for companies like Kodak, it is the very availability of the aftermarket for patent portfolios that gives shareholders the best hope of some recovery and, at the same time, causes shareholders to wonder why such a valued asset was not monetized before the company went into bankruptcy.

Anthony S. Volpe, a shareholder at?Volpe & Koenig, has corporate and private practice experience in securing, licensing and enforcing all aspects of intellectual property rights. His patent work includes appeals before the USPTO Board of Patent Appeals and interferences and international trade commission, prosecution of patent applications, rendering opinions regarding patentability and enforcement of patent rights.

Source: http://thelegalintelligencer.typepad.com/tli/2012/08/npe-the-scarlet-letters-of-patent-ownership.html

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Community Powered Disaster Recovery (video) - Continuity In ...

?On June 1st we weren?t disaster relief experts but on June 3rd we started faking it,? say Caitria and Morgan O?Neill.

After a freak tornado hit their town, these sisters felt they had no choice but to help themselves and their community. They did a great job and now they?re teaching other people how to step up in a crisis.

This is an inspirational ?TED Talk? from two young women who had to learn to solve crisis problems quickly and with the bare minimum of resources.

Watch here:

The O?Neill sisters went on to create a crisis management in a box product which includes an intuitive software tool that anyone can use: the aim being that locals are given them so they can lead their own recovery before, during and after the government and aid agencies play a part.

They?re currently going around the US raising awareness for the resource.

And if TED loves it, so do we!

Was this useful?

Share it!

Subscribe - weekly news and a free course!

Source: http://www.continuityinbusiness.com/2012/community-powered-disaster-recovery/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=community-powered-disaster-recovery

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Sony announces new PlayStation Mobile details: Buy a game once, play it anywhere

Phone companies are losing the high-speed Internet game. In the second quarter, the landline phone industry lost a substantial number of broadband subscribers for the first time, as cable companies continued to pile on new household and small business customers, thanks to the higher speeds they offer in most areas.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sony-announces-playstation-mobile-details-buy-game-once-210007644.html

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Group: Scrabble player caught cheating at US event

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) ? One of the top young Scrabble players in the country has been kicked out of the game's national championship tournament in Florida after he was caught hiding blank letter tiles, organizers said Tuesday.

John D. Williams, Jr., executive director of the National Scrabble Association, said that a male player was ejected from the 350-player event in Round 24 of the 28-round event.

The cheating was spotted by a player at a nearby table, who noticed the ejected player conceal a pair of blank tiles by dropping them on the floor, organizers said. Blank tiles can be used as wild card letters. When confronted by the tournament director, he admitted to it, organizers said.

Williams, who has served as executive director for 25 years and co-authored a book on the popular Hasbro board game in 1993, said this was the first incident of cheating at a national tournament. However, he said it's been known to occur at smaller, regional events.

"It does happen no matter what. People will try to do this," he said. "It's the first time it's happened in a venue this big though. It's unfortunate. The Scrabble world is abuzz. The Internet is abuzz."

Williams would not identify the player by name or age because he's a minor. There are four divisions and he was competing in Division 3.

He said Division 3 is equal to "any great living-room player out there."

In Scrabble matches, players accumulate points during one-on-one matches by pulling random letter tiles from a bag of 100 and trying to create words.

A total of 98 tiles have letters on them and two are blank. Blank tiles can be used as wild card letters to complete words.

The ejected player had concluded a previous game and never reinserted the blank tiles into his bag in an attempt to use them at his discretion in the next game, organizers said.

Players in the national tournament format play multiple matches over the five-day event. The winner is determined by a combination of their overall record against other players and the cumulative point spread over the entire tournament.

The ejected player forfeited all of his wins.

Williams said there is usually "good self-policing in the Scrabble world" as players try to protect the integrity of statistics on the competitive circuit.

That's because national events draw young players to seniors. The leader entering Wednesday's final day of competition is National and Scrabble All-Star Champion David Gibson, a 61-year-old math teacher from Spartanburg, S.C.

Jason Keller, 30, and nine-time Jeopardy champion from New Jersey, is in fourth place.

The winner receives the $10,000 top prize.

"It gets pretty deep. We're one step away from drug testing," Williams joked.

While Williams said this was the first time the national tournament has dealt with scandal, the incident could shine a brighter light on other advantages players have been known to employ.

Even before Tuesday's cheating ejection it was well-known that some players take minerals known as "alleged brain boosters."

"But no steroids so far," Williams quipped.

___

Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-08-14-National%20Scrabble%20Cheating/id-d633e8b376d84cf9ba4cf5b20c6ff996

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Elder Care Hazelwood MO | Home Care St. Louis MO , Homecare St ...

Preparing your legal and financial situation properly is not always an easy or pleasant task but it is an important one for seniors and their family to complete. Working through a comprehensive list of considerations can help make the task easier and will identify resources and decisions about?elder care?and your property.

Durable Power of Attorney

Durable power of attorney is a legal document naming someone to act on your behalf if you are unable to make decisions about your own care, either mentally or physically. This person has legal permission to pay your bills, direct your medical care and make other financial decisions for you.

There are two types of durable power of attorney:

-?Medical

Durable power of attorney for health care allows a selected person to make medical choices on your behalf if you are not able to do so. This person will be the point of contact for your doctors and other medical personnel.

-?Financial

Durable power of attorney for finances is the person who has authority to make financial choices and transactions on your behalf. This may include power over your real estate, social security, investments, tax returns, and paying your bills.

Note that you do not have to select the same person as your durable attorney for medical care and finances, but you certainly may. However, it is a good idea to create separate documents naming the durable power of attorney for health care, and one for the durable power of attorney for finances. This helps keeps the issues separate and provides a clear directive for your family and others.

Living Will

Also known as an advanced care directive, a living will provides instructions for your care if you are unable to make decisions on your own. Establishing a durable power of attorney for medical decisions is often part of creating an advanced care directive.

In your advanced care directive, you can provide instructions regarding organ donation and your wishes regarding the use of CPR, prolonged use of a respirator, blood cultures and other invasive diagnostic tests, artificial nutrition through a tube or IV and/or blood transfusions. In addition, an advanced care directive may include a Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR) if you stop breathing or your heart stops beating. A DNR states that you do not wish to have measures taken to restore your heartbeat or breathing if either or both stop.

Spend the time thinking about how you feel regarding these issues and speak with your family about your wishes and theirs before completing the advanced care directive.

Long Term Care Insurance

Another important factor in?elder care?is long term care insurance (LTCI), which helps cover the cost of your medical and living expenses not covered by traditional health insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare.

Long term care insurance helps cover the cost of home care, adult daycare, nursing home, assisted living, and other out-of-pocket costs associated with?elderly care. Note that some insurance companies require a waiting period before the LTCI policy goes into effect. Check with your insurance company for more information.

Income and Expenses

Another important element in preparing for the costs of care and transitioning of financial control to family members includes writing down important financial information for your family to use as needed.

This information should include the following:

-?Monthly income sources

Write down your regular sources of income, such as social security or pensions. Include your account information and policy numbers.

-?Monthly expenses

Write down your monthly expenses, such as your mortgage or rent, utility bills, cable, television, phone and any other bills that you are responsible for on a monthly basis. Include your account number and any passwords for online access.

Will

A will identifies the division of your property and assets after your death. Here are some of the basics to consider:

-?Property

Clearly identify who is to receive ownership of your property, whether it is a person or an organization. Be aware that property and estate taxes can be complicated, so contact a local lawyer to help you figure out how to pay the state and federal taxes and how to keep your property out of probate court.

-?Executor

The executor makes certain that the terms of the will occur according to your wishes.

Trust

A trust is an estate plan for minor children to whom you wish to leave money but want to manage its execution. Several elements will help avoid problems for those working to establish the trust.

-?Life insurance trust

An irrevocable life insurance trust will put the proceeds from your life insurance policy back into your estate while protecting the proceeds from federal estate taxes. Speak with your life insurance company about setting up an irrevocable life insurance trust associated with your life insurance policy.

-?Protection

Ensure that your money goes to minors as you wish by determining the amount of money that you wish for each minor child to receive each year. You may also determine an age at which the final lump sum will pay out to the child, such as after college graduation or age 25.

In addition, you can ensure that the money goes to funding the education of minor children by specifying the use of the money, such as tuition or school fees.

-?Charity

A charitable trust can specify that some or all of your money is to go towards a charity or charities of your choice.

While getting your financial situation and wishes in order can be time consuming, doing so will make life easier for you and your family as your health progresses or in case you are no longer able to make decisions on your own.

For more information about how the caregivers at Senior Services Unlimited can help your family with elder care, call (888) 427-5285. We are a home care agency providing quality and affordable elder care Hazelwood MO, and the surrounding communities.

Source: http://seniorservicesofstlouis.com/2012/08/elder-care-hazelwood-mo-2/

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Best possible high-res printing achieved

23 hrs.

John Roach

Blown-up images can look grainy and this image of the famous Lena is no exception. But, then again, it is enlarged from an image printed at just 50-by-50 micrometers, which is about the size of a human hair.

If the image was actually large enough to see by?the naked eye, it would ?look higher than high resolution,? Teri Odom, a chemist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, told Nature News.?

Indeed, the image was created using a method for printing colors at the highest possible resolution ? about 100,000 dots per inch. It could be useful to print secret messages or for?high-density data storage.

Each pixel in the image is made up of four nanoscale posts capped with silver or gold nanodisks, Nature News explains. Varying the diameter of the structures and spaces between them controls the color of light they reflect.

The technique was pioneered by researchers at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore and reported Sunday in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.?

As a proof of concept, the team chose to make a print of Lena Soderberg, a highly detailed image of a Swedish model who was the 1972 centerfold in Playboy magazine. The image is widely used today?as a printing standard.

The resolution of the image is the highest possible ??about 10 times higher than possible with an inkjet or laser printer. Put the pixels closer together and light reflecting off of them will diffract, causing a blurring effect.

According to Nature News, the researchers have applied for a patent for the printing method and aim to commercialize the technology for as nonoscale watermarks.

??Via Gizmodo and Nature News

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Source: http://www.futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/technology/futureoftech/best-possible-high-res-printing-achieved-939233

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Tricky Business: Promo and Interviews Update - Antony Starr Online

In the lead up to Tricky Business being released on DVD this Thursday, I thought I?d post a few older promos and interviews in case people didn?t see them when they first went to air.

Our very first look at Tricky Business came with the release of Channel 9?s ?We?re Ready? 2012 promo (which you can see here), which went to air at the end of 2011. It is just a quick glimpse of the Tricky gang though.

On the night of the series premiere, WIN News in the Illawarra area did a story on Tricky Business and what the series would bring to the Wollongong area. Antony is the cast member that is briefly interviewed about how nice the area is.

Source: Media & Transport Channel

I?ve added all screencaps to the gallery of both clips as well as a couple of Tricky Business promo images (imcluding a scanned advertisement).

Be sure to pick up your copy of the series on DVD when it?s released on Thursday!

?? ?? Interview Clip Screencaps > 2012: May 14 ? WIN News Illawarra (Tricky Business)
?? ?? Filmography: Television > Tricky Business (2012) > TV Promo ? Channel 9 We?re Ready 2012
?? ?? Filmography: Television > Tricky Business (2012) > Promos (2 pics)

Source: http://antonystarr.net/2012/08/tricky-business-promo-and-interviews-update/

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Bank penalties, not discounts, for some seniors

By Bob Sullivan

Senior citizens are used to getting good deals. Tell the truth: if you're aren't of AARP age, there have been times you wish you were -- when buying mass transit tickets, for example, or visiting America's national parks (one $10 fee gets you into any park, all year).? Plenty of restaurants and other retailers offer "senior days" and other deals.

But take checking accounts off the senior discount list. A new report by the Pew Center on the States warns(.pdf) that so-called senior checking accounts may not be a good deal at all. In fact, in some cases, senior accounts cost much more than a basic checking account.

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At Bank of America, for instance, a senior account is far more expensive than a basic account. Here are the facts, from Bank of America's website.? The bank's ?Advantage for Seniors? account costs $25 per month vs. a basic checking account fee of $14 per month. In both cases, consumers can earn a fee waiver, but here again, the senior account comes up short. Direct deposit of paychecks is one way, but that's often not available to seniors, Pew points out in its report.?Basic checking users can also avoid fees by maintaining a $1,500 balance in their account; but seniors have to keep at least $5,000 in their account. Fall below $5,000 for even one day, and that's a $25 fee.

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"If you have $5,000, and are happy to have it sit in this account, this can be a fine deal," said Susan Urhan, director of Pew's Center on the States. "But the question is: Is the consumer in an account that best suits their needs? The point of this (research) is that consumers need to understand the terms of their accounts."

Seniors who could comfortably park $2,000 or $3,000 -- but not more ? in their checking accounts would save $300 apiece annually by steering clear of the senior account at Bank of America.?And those?with?balances below $1,500 would still save $132 by picking a standard, basic account instead of the senior account.

The Advantage for Seniors account does offer a few perks, such as fee-free mini-statements from ATMs (they normally cost $1), but Pew concludes in its report that such perks aren?t worth the extra fees.

"Essentially, accounts of this type are a luxury account tailored for seniors, not necessarily an improvement on the basic checking package," Pew concluded.

Bank of America spokeswoman Betty Riess said that seniors have a variety of low-cost choices at ?Bank of America, including its MyAccess product, which provides a fee waiver with any monthly direct deposit of $250 or more, including Social Security payments.

?The Advantage interest-bearing account is designed for customers who have higher balances with us, and the vast majority of seniors in that account do not pay a monthly maintenance fee on the account,? she said.? She added that the Advantage account offers one benefit that is quite handy for seniors ? an early CD withdrawal without a penalty.

Senior accounts at other banks also offer some tricky choices, but not quite as tricky. At TD Bank, the "60 Plus" account costs $10 monthly(.pdf), more than the $3.99 basic checking account costs, the report found. But it only takes a $250 balance to earn a fee waiver in the TD senior account, a much more manageable threshold.

At BB&T, senior accounts cost $8 per month, and a $1,000 balance earns a fee waiver, a genuine discount compared to the $10 per month the firm charges for its basic "BB&T Bright Banking" account, which requires $1,500 for a fee waiver.

Of course, if your eyes have begun to glaze over at these various numbers, then you've heard the main lesson of the Pew report -- it's not easy to pick the right checking account under even the best of circumstances.? Add in a new set of variables, such as those associated with senior accounts, and you?ve got even more confusion. But seniors aren?t the only ones struggling with specialized checking account questions. A related Pew report released the same day looked at student/college checking accounts and found similar problems; some student accounts are inferior to basic accounts, and comparison shopping can be a real challenge.

"We looked at all these disclosures from banks, and 69 pages was the median length," Urhan said.? "We're worried this is confusing for people ... for students, for seniors."

Pew is trying to get banks to adopt a simple disclosure format -- similar to nutrition labels on food items -- so consumers could more easily comparison shop and pick the account that's best for them.

Already, TD Bank, Chase and Citibank (since July 17) have voluntarily adopted Pew's fee box, she said. The nonprofit research group also is urging the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to make fee disclosure boxes mandatory.

?It would have the same effect as a nutrition label,? she said. ?But until we get that kind of transparency ... it will be hard to make the right choice.?

* Follow Bob Sullivan on Facebook.
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Source: http://redtape.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/14/13264161-senior-discounts-with-some-checking-accounts-its-a-senior-penalty?lite

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