BAGHDAD (AP) ? Three car bombs exploded Monday in public areas in two cities in Iraq's largely calm Shiite Muslim south, killing 19 civilians and wounding dozens, officials said.
The attacks come amid a week-long spike in sectarian violence following clashes at a Sunni protest camp in the north of the country.
Two parked car bombs went off simultaneously Monday morning in the city of Amarah near a gathering of construction workers and a market, killing 12 civilians and wounding 25, according to police. Amarah is located 320 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Baghdad.
Another police officer said a parked car bomb exploded near a restaurant in the city of Diwaniyah, killing seven civilians and wounding 15 others. The city is located 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Baghdad.
Two medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.
Sectarian violence has spiked since Tuesday, when security forces tried to make arrests at a Sunni Muslim protest camp in the northern city of Hawija. The move set off a clash that killed 23 people, including three soldiers.
The Hawija incident and a spate of follow-up battles between gunmen and security forces as well as other attacks, including Monday's, have left around 200 dead in the last week.
Bomb attacks are relatively rare in Iraq's relatively peaceful southern Shiite cities.
No one has claimed responsibility for Monday's attacks, but coordinated bombings in civilian areas are a favorite strategy used by al-Qaida in Iraq.
"Reluctant Fundamentalist" US Premiere - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 22: Actress Kate Hudson attends the 'Reluctant Fundamentalist' US Premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 22, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
Tribeca Talks - "I Got Something To Tell You" Premiere And Panel - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 22: Director Whoopi Goldberg speaks onstage at the Tribeca Talks - 'I Got Something To Tell You' Premiere And Panel during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 22, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
"Kiss The Water" Premiere - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 22: Actor Jerry Seinfeld attends the 'Kiss The Water' Premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 22, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
"Reluctant Fundamentalist" US Premiere - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 22: Actor Dean Winters and guest attend the 'Reluctant Fundamentalist' US Premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 22, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
Will Forte
This April 19, 2013 photo shows actor Will Forte, right, with director Steph Green in New York. Forte, a cast member on "Saturday Night Live," stars in his first dramatic role in "Run and Jump," a film being shown at the TriBeca Film Festival. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Invision/AP)
Jessica Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld, right, and his wife Jessica Seinfeld, attend the "Kiss the Water" premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Monday, April 22, 2013, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Jerry Seinfeld
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld attends the "Kiss the Water" premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Monday, April 22, 2013, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Julie Delpy
Actress Julie Delpy attends the "Before Midnight" premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Monday, April 22, 2013, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
Actress Julie Delpy, left, and actor Ethan Hawke, attend the "Before Midnight" premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Monday, April 22, 2013, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Emma Roberts
Emma Roberts attends the premiere of "Adult World" during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday, April 18, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
"Teenage" World Premiere - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 20: Jason Schwartzman attends the 'Teenage' world premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
"Teenage" World Premiere - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 20: Adam Horovitz of The Beastie Boys attends the 'Teenage' world premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival Gala: "Big Shot" - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 19: Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Robert De Niro (L) and filmmaker Kevin Connolly attend the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival Gala: 'Big Shot' during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 19, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival Gala: "Big Shot" - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 19: Filmmaker Kevin Connolly and Lydia Hearst-Shaw attend the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival Gala: 'Big Shot' during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 19, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival Gala: "Big Shot" - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 19: Filmmaker Kevin Connolly and Lydia Hearst-Shaw attend the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival Gala: 'Big Shot' during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 19, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
Felicity Huffman, Clark Gregg, Amanda Peet
Felicity Huffman, left, Clark Gregg and Amanda Peet attend the premiere of "Trust Me" during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, April 20, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Sam Rockwell
Sam Rockwell attends the premiere of "Trust Me" during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, April 20, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
"The Pretty One" World Premiere - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 20: Actor Zoe Kazan attends the 'The Pretty One' World Premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
"The Pretty One" World Premiere - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 20: Julian Wass and Jenee LaMarque attend the 'The Pretty One' World Premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
Tribeca Talks Director's Series: Mira Nair With Bryce Dallas Howard - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 20: Actress Bryce Dallas Howard attends Tribeca Talks Director's Series: Mira Nair With Bryce Dallas Howard during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
HBO's "Moms Mabley: I Got Somethin' To Tell You" Premiere At Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 20: (L-R) Robert De Niro, Whoopi Goldberg, Grace Hightower and Tom Leonardis attend HBO's 'Moms Mabley: I Got Somethin' To Tell You' premiere at Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Donald Bowers/Getty Images for HBO)
HBO's "Moms Mabley: I Got Somethin' To Tell You" Premiere At Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 20: (L-R) Tom Leonardis, Grace Hightower, Whoopi Goldberg and Robert De Niro attend HBO's 'Moms Mabley: I Got Somethin' To Tell You' premiere at Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Donald Bowers/Getty Images for HBO)
Tribeca Film Festival 2013 After Party "Trust Me" Sponsored By Ciroc
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 20: Director Clark Gregg attends the Tribeca Film Festival 2013 after party for 'Trust Me' sponsored by Ciroc on April 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for 2013 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tribeca Film Festival After Party 2013 "The Pretty One" Sponsored By BR Guest
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 20: Dan Stevens attends the Tribeca Film Festival after party 2013 for 'The Pretty One' sponsored by BR Guest on April 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for 2013 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tribeca Film Festival After Party 2013 "The Pretty One" Sponsored By BR Guest
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 20: Zoe Kazan attends the Tribeca Film Festival after party 2013 for 'The Pretty One' sponsored by BR Guest on April 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for 2013 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tribeca Film Festival After Party 2013 "The Pretty One" Sponsored By BR Guest
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 20: Actor Frankie Shaw attends the Tribeca Film Festival after party 2013 for 'The Pretty One' sponsored by BR Guest on April 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for 2013 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tribeca Film Festival 2013 Portrait Studio - Day 3
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 21: Actor Will Forte of the film Run and Jump poses at the Tribeca Film Festival 2013 portrait studio on April 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
Tribeca Film Festival 2013 Portrait Studio - Day 3
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 21: Actors Will Forte, Maxine Peake, and Edward MacLiam pose with Director Steph Green of the film Run and Jump at the Tribeca Film Festival 2013 portrait studio on April 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
Tribeca Film Festival 2013 Portrait Studio - Day 3
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 21: Michael Chen, Alex Wolff and Katie Chang, actors in the film A Birder's Guide To Everything pose at the Tribeca Film Festival 2013 portrait studio on April 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
Tribeca Film Festival 2013 Portrait Studio - Day 3
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 21: Director Rob Meyer and screenwriter Luke Matheny of the film A Birder's Guide To Everything pose at the Tribeca Film Festival 2013 portrait studio on April 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
"Some Velvet Morning" World Premiere - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 21: Actress Alice Eve attends the 'Some Velvet Morning' World Premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
"Some Velvet Morning" World Premiere - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 21: Filmmaker Neil LaBute and actress Alice Eve attend the 'Some Velvet Morning' World Premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
"Gasland Part II" World Premiere - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 21: Director Josh Fox attends 'Gasland Part II' World Premiere at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)
"Gasland Part II" World Premiere - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 21: Yoko Ono (C) and Josh Fox (R) attend 'Gasland Part II' World Premiere at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)
"The Director" World Premiere - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 21: Actor/producer James Franco attends 'The Director' World Premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
"The Director" World Premiere - 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 21: Director Christina Voros and producer/actor James Franco attend 'The Director' World Premiere during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
Padma Lakshmi
Padma Lakshmi attends the premiere of "Sunlight Jr." during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, April 20, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Naomi Watts, Matt Dillon
Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon attend the premiere of "Sunlight Jr." during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, April 20, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Jennifer Grey, Joel Grey
Jennifer Grey and Joel Grey attend the premiere of "Trust Me" during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, April 20, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Norman Reedus
Norman Reedus attends the premiere of "Sunlight Jr." during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, April 20, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Robert De Niro, Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro attend the premiere of "Mistaken For Strangers" during the opening night of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday April 17, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Richard Belzer
Richard Belzer attends the premiere of "Mistaken For Strangers" during the opening night of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday April 17, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Ari Graynor
Ari Graynor attends the premiere of "Mistaken for Strangers" during the opening night of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday April 17, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Matt Berninger, Tom Berninger, Carin Besser
Tom Berninger, from left, Carin Besser and Matt Berninger attend the premiere of "Mistaken for Strangers" during the opening night of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday April 17, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Josh Radnor
Josh Radnor attends the premiere of "Mistaken for Strangers" during the opening night of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday April 17, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Riley Keough
Riley Keough attends the premiere of "Mistaken For Strangers" during the opening night of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday April 17, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Josh Lucas, Jessica Henriquez
Josh Lucas, right, and Jessica Henriquez attend the premiere of "Mistaken For Strangers" during the opening night of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday April 17, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Mira Sorvino
Mira Sorvino attends the premiere of "Mistaken For Strangers" during the opening night of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday April 17, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Tribeca Film Festival Opening Night Co-Sponsored By American Express
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 17: Deborah Curtis, Vice President, Entertainment Marketing and Sponsorships, American Express, director Tom Berninger (C), Rich Lehrfeld (2nd R) and The National attend Tribeca Film Festival Opening Night co-sponsored by American Express on April 17, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for American Express)
2013 Tribeca Film Festival Opening Night After Party For "Mistaken For Strangers" Sponsored By American Express
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 17: Kenneth Lonergan and Jay Smith Cameron attend the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival opening night after party for 'Mistaken For Strangers' sponsored by American Express on April 17, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for 2013 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tribeca Film Festival Opening Night Co-Sponsored By American Express
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 17: A general view of atmosphere at the Tribeca Film Festival Opening Night co-sponsored by American Express on April 17, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for American Express)
FILE - In this Sept. 4, 2012 file photo, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Foxx as his new transportation secretary, a White House official said Sunday, April 28, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 4, 2012 file photo, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Foxx as his new transportation secretary, a White House official said Sunday, April 28, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx as his new transportation secretary, a White House official said Sunday.
If confirmed by the Senate, Foxx would replace outgoing Secretary Ray LaHood.
Foxx is Obama's first black nominee among the new Cabinet members appointed for the second term. The president faced criticism early in his second term for a lack of diversity among his nominees.
The official insisted on anonymity to avoid public discussion of the pick before the official announcement.
The official noted that Foxx has led efforts to improve his city's transit infrastructure to expand economic opportunity for businesses and workers. During Foxx's term as mayor, Charlotte has broken ground on several important transportation projects, including the Charlotte Streetcar Project to bring modern electric tram service to the city as well as a third parallel runway at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. The city has also moved to extend the LYNX light rail system to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the official said.
Foxx, an attorney who has worked in several positions with the federal government, was first elected mayor in 2009. He also served as a member of the Charlotte City Council.
Concerns about safety conditions in garment factories sourced by Western retailers were revived when a factory collapsed after serious cracks were found in the building yesterday.
By Saad Hammadi,?Correspondent / April 24, 2013
People and rescuers gather after an eight-story building housing several garment factories collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 24. Dozens were killed and many more are feared trapped in the rubble.
A.M. Ahad/AP
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Eleven-year-old Taslima asked her mother not to go to her job at a local factory this morning after workers there noticed large cracks inside the building.?
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But where would the money come from if she did not go to work? Taslima's mother asked her before heading off to work like normal.
This evening, Taslima is in tears, sitting by her mother?s body in a makeshift mortuary. Her mother was one of the more than 125 killed when the eight floor building collapsed on the outskirts of Bangladesh?s capital, Dhaka. Some 800 more were injured.?As search-and-rescue efforts continue, those numbers are likely to rise, say witnesses, who report that hundreds of people may still be trapped in the rubble.
An inspection team visited Rana Plaza, where the factory building is located in the suburb of Savar, the day before the collapse and asked the owner to keep the building closed after they identified cracks in it. That instruction, however, was ignored.
The incident is not an aberration for Bangladesh. It comes on the heels of a series of factory disasters, the latest just five months ago, when a fire ripped through the Tazreen factory in Dhaka while workers were trapped inside:?More than 100 died. The collapse?revives concerns about the poor working conditions, code violations, and garment owner negligence that has racked the world's second-largest garment-exporting country, where firms produce clothing for high-profile brands including Gap, H&M, and?Wal-Mart.?
?This is an example of the most irresponsible and insensible work by the authority,? says Selim Newaj Bhuiyan, former deputy director of Fire Service and Civil Defense. Mr. Bhuiyan has attended to some of the deadliest factory fires and collapses in Dhaka. ?When the building was warned, how could the authorities ask the workers to come to work?? he asks. Bhuiyan places the blame on building and factory authorities.
One worker at the factory, Sumi, described coming to work at 8:00 a.m., despite what she calls a subconscious fear in her mind.
When debris began falling from the ceiling of the fifth floor where she worked, it was already too late for her to escape. She was trapped inside along with hundreds of others as the floors collapsed one after another. Firefighters pulled her out five hours later. She was receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.
On the seventh floor, right after meeting with production managers and supervisors, Shariful Islam was returning to his work when suddenly he heard a loud noise.
?Immediately we fell several stories down faster than an elevator?s speed,? says Mr. Islam, a quality checker at New Wave Bottoms, one of the factories that rented the building (the others included New Wave Style, Ether Tex, and Canton Tech Apparel, according to CNN).
?I closed my eyes as the entire place was engulfed with dust. A stitching machine fell on my left leg,? says Islam, who later managed to escape the building with the help of two co-workers. ?All I could see were dead bodies all around me.?
Flouting standards
At least 630 people have died in more than 30 incidents since 1990, according to the Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies.?Eight years ago, another factory collapse outside Dhaka killed about 70 workers.?In most cases factory owners have been identified flouting safety standards, but very few of them are brought to court.
Former President of the?Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA)?Abdus Salam Murshedy told The Christian Science Monitor that since the Tazreen fire last November officials are working to inspect and identify the many buildings not up to code.
It takes time, he says, to look into the licenses of all of Bangladesh's factories.
According to a fact-finding report of Bangladeshi human rights organization Odhikar, the Chief Inspector of Bangladesh?s Factories and Establishment renewed Tazreen?s safety inspection without even visiting the premises. A token sum of money was enough for the factory authorities to ?get the application [for factory operations] approved on mobile phone,? according to Odhikar?s report.
?Only compensation [for the victims and their families] and mourning such incidents are not enough. There are many vulnerable factories that are not looked into,? says Babul Akhter, president of Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers? Federation. Mr. Akhter urges international buyers to be more cautious while placing orders to the suppliers and ensure that the suppliers comply with the standards.
Bangladesh?s garment industry, the second largest garment exporter in the world, makes up 80 percent of country?s export revenue. The garment sector earned $19 billion from exports in the financial year that ended in June 2012.
?We will investigate this incident jointly with the government and make it public,? says the current president of the BGMEA, Atiqul Islam.
Apr. 25, 2013 ? Itchy eyes, scratchy throat, running nose--it's allergy season! What triggers these allergic reactions, and how do allergy medications work?
The outer surface of many of our cells, including those in the airways, has a protein called the H1 receptor. This protein attaches to histamine, an organic compound involved in immune responses. In some people, the binding triggers allergic reactions, such as hay fever or food and pet allergies. Antihistamine drugs work by preventing histamine from attaching to H1 receptors.
H1 receptors belong to a special family of proteins called G protein-coupled receptors, or GPCRs. Scientists estimate that there are about 800 different types of GPCRs in the membranes of our cells. Some are sensing molecules that let us see, smell and taste; others give us a boost after a few sips of coffee, make us retreat during a conflict or help fight off infection. GPCRs also are associated with diseases ranging from asthma to schizophrenia, and they are the target of more than a third of marketed drugs, including heart medications and antidepressants.
Yet GPCRs' structures--key to understanding how they work and to designing more effective drugs--have remained relatively hidden from view. Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have given us a peek at some of them, and the improved methods these scientists have developed could reveal lots more structures in the near future.
Structural Clues
Labs around the world have tried for years to obtain detailed images of human GPCRs because the precise, three-dimensional arrangement of a protein's atoms provides important details about how a protein interacts with its natural partner molecules in the body or with drug molecules. But the structures of membrane proteins, including GPCRs, are as difficult to determine as they are valuable to understand.
One challenge is that GPCRs are exceedingly flimsy and fragile when not anchored within their native cell membranes. This makes it very hard to coax them to form crystals so that their structures can be determined through X-ray crystallography.
Right now, we know the structures of about 1 percent of all human GPCRs, and researchers are using two key approaches to generate and study more. Stanford University's Brian Kobilka, who shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on GPCRs, is among the scientists who are focusing on specific GPCRs to better understand how they function and interact with other molecules, including drugs.
Other scientists, such as Raymond Stevens at The Scripps Research Institute, are taking a complementary approach to get structures that represent each of the major branches of the GPCR family tree. Knowing more about one member could enable scientists to computationally model the others.
GPCR
In addition to the H1 histamine receptor, some of the key structures that the Stevens group and its collaborators, including Kobilka and other scientists around the world, have solved using the family tree approach include the:
? ?2 adrenergic receptor, or the molecular "fight or flight" switch.
? A2A adenosine receptor, sometimes called the "caffeine receptor."
? CXCR4 chemokine receptor, which has been linked to more than 20 types of cancer.
?D3 dopamine receptor, which plays a vital role in the central nervous system, affecting our movement, cognition and emotion.
? Kappa opioid receptor, a protein on the surface of brain cells that is centrally involved in pleasure as well as in pain, addiction, depression, psychosis and related conditions.
Technical Breakthroughs
What was the game-changing technical breakthrough that has made determining these structures possible?
"I'm always asked that question," says Stevens, "and the answer is that there wasn't just one breakthrough, there were about 15 separate developments by several different investigators around the world, each breakthrough critically needed in combination with one another, and they came together after a long time."
Some of these breakthroughs have improved researchers' ability to produce and purify GPCRs in quantities sufficient for crystallization. Other breakthroughs have been aimed at stabilizing GPCRs, making them more crystallizable and holding them in a specific structural conformation. Scientists continue to improve other methods, including the ability to model new GPCR structures from known ones.
These developments have had an enormous impact on furthering our understanding of GPCRs, and they should lead to new insights on biological processes and aid progress in drug discovery.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NIH, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), via Newswise.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
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.
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Dwayne Johnson is home after hernia surgery.
The 40-year-old "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" star tweeted a photo of himself in a hospital bed Tuesday. He's flexing his muscles while wearing a Superman shirt and a hospital bonnet.
Johnson wrote that the doctor repaired three hernia tears. Johnson's publicist, Alan Nierob, says the actor is now recovering at home.
Johnson's latest film, "Pain & Gain," opens Friday. He can also been seen in "Fast & Furious 6" next month.
Apr. 23, 2013 ? While gun control issues usually surface after major incidents like the fatal shooting of 20 elementary school students in Newtown, Conn., a new study shows that children are routinely killed or injured by firearms.
The study, conducted by the Colorado School of Public Health, Denver Health and Children's Hospital Colorado, was published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). It examines trauma admissions at two emergency rooms in Denver and Aurora over nine years and found that 129 of 6,920 injured children suffered gunshot wounds.
"In 14 percent of these cases children managed to get access to unlocked, loaded guns," said the study's lead author Angela Sauaia, M.D., Ph.D., at the Colorado School of Public Health and the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "In an area with so much disagreement, I think we can all agree that children should not have unsupervised access to unlocked, loaded guns."
The study shows that at least 14 children between the ages four and 17 are injured by firearms every year in the Denver metro area alone. That number excludes those found dead at the scene. It also doesn't count those who did not go to the emergency department, so Sauaia believes the injury rates exceed 14 or roughly 2 percent of all child trauma admissions.
The number of gun injuries to children has changed little over the years.
According to state data, Colorado firearm death rates for children were 2.2 per 100,000 in the year 2000, 1.9 per 100,000 in 2009 and 2.8 per 100,000 in 2011.
"People tend to only pay attention to gun safety issues after these mass killings but this is happening all the time to our children and it's totally preventable," Sauaia said. "Are we as a society willing to accept that 14 or more children shot each year is an acceptable number?"
Sauaia, an associate professor of public health, medicine and surgery, studied child trauma admissions from 2000-2008 at Children's Hospital Colorado and Denver Health Medical Center. She found those who had been shot suffered significantly more severe wounds than children hurt with other objects and that the severity of the firearm injuries is increasing.
At the same time, 50 percent of shooting victims required intensive care. And, 13 percent died compared to 1.7 percent of children hurt in non-firearm incidents. The majority of those shot were adolescent males whose injuries were often self-inflicted.
Sauaia did not include the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School, which killed 12 students and injured another 21, in her study. The 2012 Aurora theater shootings, which killed 12 and wounded 58 last year, were also not in the time frame included in the study.
"When we examined the data we found that seven percent of the injuries to children were related to violence and of those 38 percent were related to guns," she said. "If the injury was gun related, the odds of dying were 10 times greater than from any other kind of injury."
Sauaia and her colleagues had done another study in 1993 that found that 42 percent of people who died from trauma incidents in Denver were killed by guns. That compared to 26 percent killed in car accidents.
She conducted both studies entirely without federal funding.
"There is little money to do gun research, which is unfortunate," Sauaia said. "But the point we can all agree upon is that, no matter what side of the gun divide you fall on, we need to store these weapons safely to protect our children from death or serious injury."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Colorado Denver. The original article was written by David Kelly.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Angela Sauaia, Joshua I. Miller, Ernest E. Moore, David Partrick. Firearm Injuries of Children and Adolescents in 2 Colorado Trauma Centers: 2000-2008. JAMA, 2013 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2013.3354
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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.
LONDON (Reuters) - British judges on Tuesday dealt a fresh blow to efforts to expel a radical cleric once described as Osama bin Laden's "right-hand man in Europe", prompting the government to vow to take its case to the country's highest court.
Britain says Abu Qatada, whose sermons were found in a Hamburg flat used by some of those who carried out the September 11 attacks on the United States, is a security risk and should be returned to his native Jordan where he was convicted on terrorism charges in 1999.
But in an increasingly embarrassing saga for Home Secretary Theresa May, judges have repeatedly blocked the move, citing fears that evidence obtained through torture may be used against Qatada in an expected retrial in Jordan.
Last month, judges rejected an appeal against a November ruling by Britain's Special Immigration Appeals Commission blocking Qatada's deportation, prompting the government to seek permission to appeal to Britain's highest court.
The Court of Appeal, which filters requests to appeal to the Supreme Court, has now rejected the government's request.
"We are disappointed with the Court of Appeal's decision but will now request permission to appeal directly from the Supreme Court," the Home Office said in a statement.
"The government remains committed to deporting this dangerous man and we continue to work with the Jordanians to address the outstanding legal issues preventing deportation," the statement added.
Although the government can request permission to appeal to the Supreme Court directly, success is seen as less likely than if the Court of Appeal had agreed to allow it.
The government will have no other legal avenues left if the Supreme Court decides not to hear its case.
Qatada, once described by a Spanish judge as "Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe" has been in and out of jail since first being arrested in 2001, and was last month sent back to jail for breaching his bail conditions.
His presence in Britain has been an embarrassment for the Conservative-led government, which has pledged to toughen immigration rules and has promised to get rid of him.
May's lawyers have described him as a "truly dangerous" individual, a point judges do not dispute. But despite assurances from Jordan, they fear a "flagrant denial of justice" if Qatada were returned there for a retrial.
Britain's opposition Labour party said the government had employed a "failed" legal strategy.
"A year ago Theresa May promised Abu Qatada would soon be on a plane. Now it is clear her legal strategy has completely failed," Labour interior affairs spokeswoman Yvette Cooper said.
"We want to see Abu Qatada deported as a matter of urgency to face fair trial in Jordan. The Home Secretary and the courts have said he is a very dangerous man," she added.
(Reporting by Mohammed Abbas; Editing by Jon Hem,ming)
Study: Source of organic matter affects Bay water qualityPublic release date: 23-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: David Malmquist davem@vims.edu 804-684-7011 Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Persistence of 'urban' organics downstream favors dead-zone formation
Each time it rains, runoff carries an earthy tea steeped from leaf litter, crop residue, soil, and other organic materials into the storm drains and streams that feed Chesapeake Bay.
A new study led by researchers at William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science reveals that land use in the watersheds from which this "dissolved organic matter" originates has important implications for Bay water quality, with the organic carbon in runoff from urbanized or heavily farmed landscapes more likely to persist as it is carried downstream, thus contributing energy to fuel low-oxygen "dead zones" in coastal waters.
The study appears in this month's issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research, and was highlighted by the journal's publisher, the American Geophysical Union, as an "AGU Research Spotlight" in their print and online channels.
The study was authored by VIMS post-doctoral researcher Dr. Yuehan Lu (now at the University of Alabama), VIMS Professor Elizabeth Canuel, Professor Jim Bauer of Ohio State University, Associate Professor Youhei Yamashita of Hokkaido University in Japan, Professor Randy Chambers of the College of William & Mary, and Professor Rudolf Jaff of Florida International University.
Low-oxygen dead zones are a growing problem in Chesapeake Bay and coastal ecosystems worldwide. While most management practices focus on reducing inputs of nitrogen and other nutrients known to fuel dead zones, Canuel says "organic matter from the watershed may also contribute. One goal of our study was to examine the quality of organic matter derived from streams and its potential to contribute to dead-zone formation."
As streams and rivers carry dissolved organic matter downstream, bacteria or sunlight can modify it into compounds and forms that are more difficult for organisms to use. While the team's research showed no significant difference in bacterial degradation of organic matter from cleared or forested watersheds, Canuel says it did show that "organic carbon in runoff from watersheds affected by human activity is less susceptible to solar degradation than that from forested watersheds."
"Urban organics" thus remain at higher levels longer, says Canuel, "delivering more organic material to the river mouth and increasing the likelihood that low-oxygen conditions will develop in downstream locations such as estuaries and the coastal ocean."
The research team conducted their study using samples taken from seven small streams that flow into the James and York rivers, major tributaries of Chesapeake Bay. Three of these streams drain forested watersheds, with 87 to 100% tree cover, while the other four drain watersheds largely converted by human activity into pasture, cropland, or pavement and buildings.
The authors aren't yet sure why the organic carbon from the more developed watersheds is less vulnerable to breakdown by sunlight in rivers and streams, but suggest that it might be because it has already been exposed to appreciable sunlight in the less shady urban and agricultural environment.
Says Canuel, "Urban organics may persist downstream because their more photoreactive compounds have already been degraded due to greater light exposure in urban areas, farm fields, and pastures, leaving only the more photo-resistant, refractory compounds to wash into the coastal zone."
The team's findings provide one possible mechanism for an observed increase in the concentration of dissolved organic carbon in the surface waters of North America and Europe during the last few decades, and have implications for management of water quality in coastal zones worldwide.
"Our results show that future studies should assess not only the quantity of dissolved organic carbon entering our rivers and streams, but also its source," says Canuel. "Understanding how organic matter from developed and undeveloped watersheds behaves in the aquatic environment will contribute to the development of more effective watershed management practices and hopefully more successful efforts to reduce the number, extent, and duration of low-oxygen dead zones."
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Study: Source of organic matter affects Bay water qualityPublic release date: 23-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: David Malmquist davem@vims.edu 804-684-7011 Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Persistence of 'urban' organics downstream favors dead-zone formation
Each time it rains, runoff carries an earthy tea steeped from leaf litter, crop residue, soil, and other organic materials into the storm drains and streams that feed Chesapeake Bay.
A new study led by researchers at William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science reveals that land use in the watersheds from which this "dissolved organic matter" originates has important implications for Bay water quality, with the organic carbon in runoff from urbanized or heavily farmed landscapes more likely to persist as it is carried downstream, thus contributing energy to fuel low-oxygen "dead zones" in coastal waters.
The study appears in this month's issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research, and was highlighted by the journal's publisher, the American Geophysical Union, as an "AGU Research Spotlight" in their print and online channels.
The study was authored by VIMS post-doctoral researcher Dr. Yuehan Lu (now at the University of Alabama), VIMS Professor Elizabeth Canuel, Professor Jim Bauer of Ohio State University, Associate Professor Youhei Yamashita of Hokkaido University in Japan, Professor Randy Chambers of the College of William & Mary, and Professor Rudolf Jaff of Florida International University.
Low-oxygen dead zones are a growing problem in Chesapeake Bay and coastal ecosystems worldwide. While most management practices focus on reducing inputs of nitrogen and other nutrients known to fuel dead zones, Canuel says "organic matter from the watershed may also contribute. One goal of our study was to examine the quality of organic matter derived from streams and its potential to contribute to dead-zone formation."
As streams and rivers carry dissolved organic matter downstream, bacteria or sunlight can modify it into compounds and forms that are more difficult for organisms to use. While the team's research showed no significant difference in bacterial degradation of organic matter from cleared or forested watersheds, Canuel says it did show that "organic carbon in runoff from watersheds affected by human activity is less susceptible to solar degradation than that from forested watersheds."
"Urban organics" thus remain at higher levels longer, says Canuel, "delivering more organic material to the river mouth and increasing the likelihood that low-oxygen conditions will develop in downstream locations such as estuaries and the coastal ocean."
The research team conducted their study using samples taken from seven small streams that flow into the James and York rivers, major tributaries of Chesapeake Bay. Three of these streams drain forested watersheds, with 87 to 100% tree cover, while the other four drain watersheds largely converted by human activity into pasture, cropland, or pavement and buildings.
The authors aren't yet sure why the organic carbon from the more developed watersheds is less vulnerable to breakdown by sunlight in rivers and streams, but suggest that it might be because it has already been exposed to appreciable sunlight in the less shady urban and agricultural environment.
Says Canuel, "Urban organics may persist downstream because their more photoreactive compounds have already been degraded due to greater light exposure in urban areas, farm fields, and pastures, leaving only the more photo-resistant, refractory compounds to wash into the coastal zone."
The team's findings provide one possible mechanism for an observed increase in the concentration of dissolved organic carbon in the surface waters of North America and Europe during the last few decades, and have implications for management of water quality in coastal zones worldwide.
"Our results show that future studies should assess not only the quantity of dissolved organic carbon entering our rivers and streams, but also its source," says Canuel. "Understanding how organic matter from developed and undeveloped watersheds behaves in the aquatic environment will contribute to the development of more effective watershed management practices and hopefully more successful efforts to reduce the number, extent, and duration of low-oxygen dead zones."
###
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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.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A decision to charge the Boston Marathon bombing suspect in a civilian rather than a military court means he will face the same legal process as other federal criminal defendants in U.S. courts.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was charged on Monday with using a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property resulting in death.
The White House said earlier that Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, would not be treated as an enemy combatant for his alleged role in last week's bomb attacks, which killed three people and wounded more than 200.
These are the likely next steps in his case, legal experts said.
INDICTMENT, PLEA NEGOTIATIONS
After a defendant is charged by a complaint, prosecutors then typically take their evidence to a grand jury and seek a formal indictment.
If the grand jury returns an indictment on the weapons-of-mass-destruction charge, which can carry the death penalty, the court will appoint lawyers with experience in death penalty cases, said Kelly Currie, a former federal prosecutor in New York who oversaw violent crime and terrorism cases.
Plea negotiations are likely to begin almost immediately, given the apparent evidence against Tsarnaev.
"If defense counsel is convinced the case against her client is exceptionally strong, speaking about a plea or possible cooperation is something defense counsel will be considering," said Michael Rosensaft, another former federal prosecutor from New York.
Prosecutors also will be deciding whether or not to seek the death penalty. That decision is expected within weeks, and the prosecution and defense will be given an opportunity to weigh in on any mitigating or aggravating factors. The ultimate determination will be made by the U.S. attorney general.
Prosecutors will move quickly to make that assessment, since "that obviously changes the tone of the case," Rosensaft said. Tsarnaev's attorney also may use a guilty plea as leverage to ask the government to take the death penalty off the table.
Three attorneys from the Massachusetts federal public defenders office - Miriam Conrad, Timothy Watkins and William Fick - were listed as representing Tsarnaev in court filings. The office did not immediately return a call for comment Monday evening.
Conrad filed a motion late Monday seeking the appointment of at least two attorneys with experience in death-penalty cases. U.S. law requires that at least one experienced attorney be appointed in every potential capital case. "Given the magnitude of this case," Conrad said it would be appropriate to appoint at least two additional lawyers with death penalty experience, in addition to his federal defenders, according to the motion.
Tsarnaev's attorneys also may use access to their client as a bargaining chip. If prosecutors want to find out if he has any valuable information to offer, defense attorneys may be able to leverage that during plea negotiations, Currie said.
"It's a delicate discussion and it goes back and forth," he said.
DISCOVERY
Both sides will begin the discovery process, meaning they will start compiling evidence. If the case against Tsarnaev includes any potentially classified information that could impact national security, then prosecutors could ask a judge to keep that under seal.
Prosecutors also will have to disclose any evidence that might exonerate or mitigate the case against Tsarnaev to defense counsel.
Since law enforcement officials sought the public's help during the investigation, they have likely received thousands of tips that will need to be examined to see if any of them could suggest Tsarnaev is innocent, or that others were involved, Currie said. If so, prosecutors will have to turn that over to the defense.
"There's a huge amount of information that the government is going to have to sort through and provide to the defense," Currie said. "It's a huge challenge for both prosecution and defense teams."
CIVILIAN COURTS MORE TRANSPARENT
Some Republican lawmakers had called on the Obama administration to designate Tsarnaev as an enemy combatant, which would have restricted his rights. The enemy combatant status arose in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, and some suspects so-designated have been detained at a U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
But White House spokesman Jay Carney said that was off the table. "Under U.S. law, United States citizens cannot be tried in military commissions," Carney said.
The biggest difference between a trial in civilian court and before a military commission is transparency, Rosensaft said.
"With this case, there's so much evidence that's publicly available, that the public already knows, that I don't think airing that evidence against him in federal court would implicate any national security concerns," Rosensaft said.
If Tsarnaev pleads guilty and eschews a trial, it is possible much of prosecutors' evidence against him may never become public, beyond the massive amount of photo, video and other evidence that has already circulated publicly.
By charging him in federal court, prosecutors may also open themselves open to a motion from the defense to suppress any statements made to law enforcement after his arrest.
This is because officials did not read him his Miranda rights immediately. A transcript of the bedside hearing in the hospital on Monday showed he was read his rights then.
Tsarnaev was captured last Friday after a massive manhunt and was taken to a hospital in Boston with gunshot wounds following gunfights with police.
The Miranda issue would mostly impact any statements made by Tsarnaev to police after his arrest, but not the photos, video and other evidence linking him to the crime that has already been compiled, legal experts said.
Enemy combatants do not typically need to be read their Miranda rights - but even in civilian cases, Miranda warnings can be waived for a limited window of time under the so-called public safety exception. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that law enforcement officials can engage in a limited and focused interrogation without warning the suspect, if they believe public safety is at stake.
Judges likely will be sympathetic to the exception invoked by authorities, given the fear at the time that other attacks may have been planned. It also is unclear what statements, if any, Tsarnaev, who was badly wounded, made to law enforcement before his attorney came into the case.
His injuries included throat wounds and it was not clear how much he communicated with anyone before the complaint was filed.
But "if there's any statement they want to use against him," the Miranda issue is "something defense counsel will be fixated on," Rosensaft said.
The case is U.S. v. Tsarnaev, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, No. 13-2106.
Drug developers may have a new tool to search for more effective medications and new materials.
It's a computer algorithm that can model and catalogue the entire set of lightweight, carbon-containing molecules that chemists could feasibly create in a lab.
The small-molecule universe has more than 10^60 (that's 1 with 60 zeroes after it) chemical structures. Duke chemist David Beratan said that many of the world's problems have molecular solutions in this chemical space, whether it's a cure for disease or a new material to capture sunlight.
But, he said, "The small-molecule universe is astronomical in size. When we search it for new molecular solutions, we are lost. We don't know which way to look."
To give synthetic chemists better directions in their molecular search, Beratan and his colleagues -- Duke chemist Weitao Yang, postdoctoral associates Aaron Virshup and Julia Contreras-Garcia, and University of Pittsburgh chemist Peter Wipf -- designed a new computer algorithm to map the small-molecule universe.
The map, developed with a National Institutes of Health P50 Center grant, tells scientists where the unexplored regions of the chemical space are and how to build structures to get there. A paper describing the algorithm and map appeared online in April in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
The map helps chemists because they do not yet have the tools, time or money to synthesize all 10^60 compounds in the small-molecule universe. Synthetic chemists can only make a few hundred or a few thousand molecules at a time, so they have to carefully choose which compounds to build, Beratan said.
The scientists already have a digital library describing about a billion molecules found in the small-molecule universe, and they have synthesized about 100 million compounds over the course of human history, Beratan said. But these molecules are similar in structure and come from the same regions of the small-molecule universe.
It's the unexplored regions that could hold molecular solutions to some of the world's most vexing challenges, Beratan said.
To add diversity and explore new regions to the chemical space, Aaron Virshup developed a computer algorithm that built a virtual library of 9 million molecules with compounds representing every region of the small-molecule universe.
"The idea was to start with a simple molecule and make random changes, so you add a carbon, change a double bond to a single bond, add a nitrogen. By doing that over and over again, you can get to any molecule you can think of," Virshup said.
He programed the new algorithm to make small, random chemical changes to the structure of benzene and then to catalogue the new molecules it created based on where they fit into the map of the small-molecule universe. The challenge, Virshup said, came in identifying which new chemical compounds chemists could actually create in a lab.
Virshup sent his early drafts of the algorithm's newly constructed molecules to synthetic chemists who scribbled on them in red ink to show whether they were synthetically unstable or unrealistic. He then turned the criticisms into rules the algorithm had to follow so it would not make those types of compounds again.
"The rules kept us from getting lost in the chemical space," he said.
After ten iterations, the algorithm finally produced 9 million synthesizable molecules representing every region of the small-molecule universe, and it produced a map showing the regions of the chemical space where scientists have not yet synthesized any compounds.
"With the map, we can tell chemists, if you can synthesize a new molecule in this region of space, you have made a new type of compound," Virshup said. "It's an intellectual property issue. If you're in the blank spaces on our small molecule map, you're guaranteed to make something that isn't patented yet," he said.
The team has made the source code for the algorithm available online. The researchers said they hope scientists will use it to immediately start mining the unexplored regions of the small molecule universe for new chemical compounds.
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Duke University: http://www.duke.edu
Thanks to Duke University for this article.
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MIAMI (AP) ? LeBron James looked at the stat sheet, then looked at the cameras and said words that were absolutely not what the Milwaukee Bucks wanted to hear.
They might have even seemed downright ominous.
"We know we can play a better game," James said.
His assessment came after the defending NBA champion Miami Heat pretty much did whatever they wanted in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
James scored 27 points on 9-for-11 shooting ? finishing two assists shy of a triple-double ? while Ray Allen scored 20 off the bench and the Heat picked up where they left off in last year's playoffs, never trailing on the way to beating the Bucks 110-87 on Sunday night.
James also had game-highs of 10 rebounds and eight assists. According to STATS LLC, in the last 26 years, only Anthony Mason had finished a game (albeit one of the regular-season variety) with at least 27 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists on 11 or fewer shots until the league's reigning MVP did it on Sunday.
"He's in playoff mode," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said.
Wade scored 16, Chris Bosh added 15 and Chris Andersen finished with 10 on 4-for-4 shooting for the Heat, who opened their title defense by holding Milwaukee to 42 percent shooting.
Brandon Jennings scored 26 points and Monta Ellis added 22 for the Bucks, who have not won the opening game of a playoff series since May 2001.
Game 2 is Tuesday in Miami.
"We've got nothing to lose," Jennings said. "Nobody should be scared or anything. Let's just hoop."
It might take more than that.
The Bucks lost by 23, and afterward, it was the Heat who seemed like the team more disappointed in its level of play.
Miami shot 7 of 23 from 3-point range, nearly 10 percent worse than its regular-season norm in that department. The Heat turned the ball over 19 times, five more than usual. They gave the Bucks 22 points off those miscues, which matched Miami's sixth-highest total of the season.
And yet they still outscored Milwaukee in every quarter, led by as many as 25 in the late going and outrebounded the Bucks 46-31 ? especially impressive considering the Bucks finished the regular season with the fifth-most rebounds per game in the league while Miami finished the year ranked last out of 30 teams.
"It's a great way to start the series," Bosh said. "They're a feisty team over there. We wanted to make sure that we played good on defense and keep doing what we've been doing."
James took a bit of a break at the end of the season while dealing with a strained right hamstring, was excused from the team for its final regular-season game to tend to personal matters and said he came back to Miami late last week rested, refreshed and ready to open the title defense.
It showed. He alternated between steady and showtime modes, either running the offense or getting to the rim for spectacular left-handed dunks.
"We love him in that mode," Wade said. "The time away was good and now he's focused on his goal and his goal is to dominate every game and help take this team to a championship."
James had taken only 11 shots in a playoff game twice before, and his postseason per-game average entering Sunday was just under 21 tries. But with the way he controlled the game Sunday, he didn't exactly need to shoot.
"All I care about is the win," James said. "I didn't even know my stats. I just knew that we were playing efficient offensively besides the turnovers. We want to try to keep that going."
That's probably not the best of signs for the Bucks.
"Obviously, incredibly efficient," Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. "When you have a game like that, what can you do?"
Milwaukee came into the series with Jennings predicting his team would oust the reigning champions in six games.
They'll have to win four of five now for that to happen. And with James playing like this, the odds would seem particularly slim.
"I think we played good basketball in stretches," said Ellis, whose team finished with 10 offensive rebounds, all in the first half. "They're a great team. They capitalized on our mistakes. I think they were more aggressive towards the end. In the third and fourth, they never looked back."
The Bucks said coming into Game 1 that they would brace for Miami to come out flying, and the Heat more than delivered on that expectation. Miami scored on its first five possessions and after back-to-back scores at the rim by James ? the first of those a vicious one-handed slam after Wade set him up on a 3-on-1 break ? the Heat were up 21-8 early.
Milwaukee settled down quickly, getting within 26-24 at the end of the first, with Jennings scoring 10 in the period. And the Bucks hung around for the remainder of the first half, with Miami leading just 52-45 going into intermission.
"I thought in the first half we played with some good energy, had some good ball movement, created some turnovers and took advantage of that," Boylan said. "In the third quarter they came out a little bit more focused ... with a little more purpose, I think."
Ellis opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer, getting the Bucks within four. Then came Miami's second big flurry of the night, and the Bucks had no more answers.
An 11-1 Heat run stretched the lead to 14, and Miami closed the quarter with seven straight points ? James started that burst with a left-handed slam, then set up Andersen for another dunk. Another dunk by Andersen, this time when he soared in for a two-handed flush of a missed 3-pointer by Shane Battier, sent the building into overdrive, with people in the "White Hot" crowd waving their giveaway T-shirts in unison.
NOTES: Both teams practice in Miami on Monday. ... Miami outrebounded Milwaukee 22-9 after halftime. ... Rihanna was in attendance. ... Miami's bench outscored Milwaukee's reserves 43-25. ... Mason's game that compared with James' Game 1 stat line came for Charlotte against Orlando on Feb. 17, 1997, when he made all 11 of his shots and finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Before that, the last player with a game of at least 27-10-8 on no more than 11 shots was Doc Rivers ? now the Celtics coach, who did it in both December 1986 and December 1987 as a member of the Atlanta Hawks.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) ? U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel assured Israel on Monday that the Obama administration is committed to preserving and improving the Jewish state's military edge in the Middle East.
Hagel, on his first visit to Israel as Pentagon chief, also declared that it is Israel's right to decide for itself whether to attack Iran to stop it from building a nuclear bomb.
Those two messages appeared to form the foundation of Hagel's effort to improve U.S. relations with Israel, which have been strained in recent years by obstacles to reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and by the threat of an Iranian bomb.
Later, Hagel was flown in an Israeli Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over northern Israel to view the Golan Heights, an area along the Syrian border that Israel captured during the 1967 Six-Day War.
The flight appeared to be aimed in part at impressing upon Hagel the narrow reaches of Israel and its vulnerability to troubled areas like Syria, which is in the midst of civil war.
An Israeli Defense Forces information packet provided to those who took the flight with Hagel noted that "the State of Nebraska is nine times the State of Israel." Hagel is a former two-term Republican senator from Nebraska.
At a joint news conference with Hagel prior to their flight, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, said security in the Golan Heights is one of Israel's chief worries about Syria's turmoil. He also appeared to refer to an Israeli military operation in response to a violation of what he termed an Israeli "red line" with regard to the Syrian conflict.
Yaalon said Israel has declared it will not "allow sophisticated weapons to be delivered or to be taken by rogue elements like Hezbollah and other rogue elements that are operating now in Syria. And we proved it; when they crossed these red lines we operated, we acted." He did not elaborate on what action Israel took.
In his appearance with Yaalon, Hagel was asked whether he believes it would be advisable for Israel to attack Iran on its own.
"That calculation has to be made by" Israel, he replied after noting, "Israel is a sovereign nation; every sovereign nation has a right to defend itself."
Hagel did not mention a concern that U.S. officials have voiced in the past, namely, that an Israeli strike would run the risk of igniting a wider war that could draw in the United States.
As evidence of Washington's commitment to preserving Israel's so-called qualitative military edge in the Mideast, Hagel said the U.S. will permit Israel to buy various new weapons, including U.S. missiles and advanced radars for its strike aircraft.
"We are committed to providing Israel with whatever support is necessary for Israel to maintain military superiority over any state or coalition of states and non-state actors," Hagel said.
Yaalon was asked about reports that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons in its struggle against rebel forces.
He did not specifically say whether Israel believes such weapons have been used, but he said that Syria must not cross the "red line" of allowing any chemical weapons to fall into the hands of what Yaalon called "rogue elements."
He said that "red line" has not yet been crossed, adding, "but we are ready to operate if any rogue element is going to put their hands (on chemical agents) or chemical agents are going to be delivered."
Hagel also was meeting Monday with Israeli President Shimon Peres, and on Tuesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
___
Associated Press writer Josef Federman contributed to this report.
(Reuters) - Five backcountry snowboarders were killed and one survived an avalanche on Saturday at Colorado's Loveland Pass, a sheriff's department said.
Clear Creek County Sheriff Don Krueger told Reuters that the snowboarders apparently triggered the avalanche at the 11,990-foot (3,651-meter) pass about 75 miles west of Denver.
The avalanche occurred at about 1 p.m. just above the Loveland Ski Area, he said. The bodies are being recovered.
The deaths bring to 10 the number of slide-related fatalities in Colorado during the current ski season.
A snowboarder was killed by a human-triggered avalanche on Thursday at Vail, about 100 miles west of Denver, in an area known as "Avalanche Bowl."
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center this week listed the slide danger as "considerable" in the Vail area due to recent heavy snowfalls and shifting winds.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson and Keith Coffman; Editing by Paul Simao)
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