DFG establishes 5 new research units

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

18-Oct-2013

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Contact: Dr. Rembert Unterstell
rembert.unterstell@dfg.de
49-228-885-2275
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Approximately 12 million Euros over the next 3 years for research on proteins, to uncover the physiological basis for cognitive processes and mimetic cultural techniques

This news release is available in German.

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is establishing five new Research Units. This was decided by the DFG Senate at its October meeting. The purpose of the research collaborations is to offer researchers the possibility to pursue current, pressing issues in their subject areas and to establish innovative work directions.

Like with all DFG Research Units, collaboration will be interdisciplinary and span multiple locations. In the initial 3-year funding period, they will receive approximately 12 million euros. The DFG is thus currently supporting a total of 205 Research Units.

The new Research Units

(in alphabetical order by host university)

The "Data Assimilation for Improved Characterisation of Fluxes across Compartmental Interfaces" Research Unit will use complex and dynamic models to simulate water and energy flows from the ground water up to the atmosphere. Soil physicists and geophysicists, hydrogeologists and meteorologists will work with environmental physicists and experts in fluid mechanics from the universities of Augsburg, Bonn, Hamburg, Hanover and Tbingen and the Helmholtz Association institutes in Jlich and Leipzig to develop and thoroughly test data assimilation techniques. The researchers hope that the results and models will provide better options for weather and climate forecasting and improve quality assurance in water management, thus delivering fresh impetus to interdisciplinary research in a number of areas related to the environment.

(Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Clemens Simmer, University of Bonn)

The Bcl-2 (b-cell-lymphoma 2) family of proteins plays an important part in regulating programmed cell death. Over recent years, research has shown that complex molecular interactions in some members of the family facilitate cell death while others prevent it. Mutations and faulty regulation can contribute to the emergence and the development of therapy resistance in some types of cancer such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. The new Research Unit aims to provide "New Insights into Bcl-2 Family Interactions: From Biophysics to Function". Working groups from Germany, Austria and Switzerland will combine basic and pre-clinical research in an interdisciplinary approach that draws on and links biophysics, cellular and molecular biology, protein chemistry and human pathology. The desired outcome is a better understanding of the complex regulation of the Bcl-2 network in normal physiological processes and in pathogenesis, such as in normal and in malignant and abnormal haematosis.

(Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Thomas Brunner, University of Constance)

How are blood-forming stem cells in the human organism controlled by the regulatory structures of the cells that surround them? This question concerning the "stem cell niche" is of wide-ranging importance and is the focus of the "The Hematopoietic Niches" Research Unit, which will be represented in several locations: Munich, Freiburg, Dresden and Heidelberg. It intends to explain in detail the biology of the bone marrow niche and its role in health and disease. Working groups in basic and clinical research will work together to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms. They will combine genetic and molecular models and imaging processes and technologies. It is hoped that it will be possible to apply the findings in the long term to the treatment of blood diseases and go beyond that to improve the understanding of other stem cells.

(Spokesperson: PD Dr. Robert A. J. Oostendorp, Technical University of Munich)

In order to understand cognitive processes such as perception or communication, it is also necessary to know about the information flows in the brain which underlie them, from the neuronal and synaptic level to interactions across different areas of the brain. The Research Unit entitled "The Physiology of Distributed Computing Underlying Higher Brain Function in Non-human Primates" will bring neuroscientists from Tbingen, Gttingen, Frankfurt and Marburg together to study the assimilation of information and its modulation in defined neuronal circuits. Using modern electrophysiological methods, the researchers are hoping to gain new insight into central cognitive abilities and processes which it would not be possible to acquire from humans and rodents. As part of the project, it is intended to establish and make transparent ethical standpoints and standards concerning experiments on primates.

(Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Thier, University Hospital Tbingen)

The "History and Theory of Mimetic Practice" Research Unit will examine one of the most important and powerful categories of aesthetics. Since ancient times, mimesis (or imitation) has been the subject of much philosophical, artistic and cultural reflection. Researchers in cultural and media disciplines now want to take a fresh look at the practice of this productive cultural technique which they intend to recreate and interpret in their processes. They will look at very different areas of culture and consult very different references to investigate the question of how in the modern age a concept has developed from an aesthetic norm in the history of philosophy to have social and media-related dimensions.

(Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Siegert, Bauhaus University Weimar)

###

Further Information

Media contact:

DFG Press and Public Relations, Tel. +49 228 885-2443, presse@dfg.de

More detailed information is provided by the spokespersons of the established units.

For information on DFG Research Units and Clinical Research Units also see: http://www.dfg.de/for/en

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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:

18-Oct-2013

[


| E-mail



| Share

]

Contact: Dr. Rembert Unterstell
rembert.unterstell@dfg.de
49-228-885-2275
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Approximately 12 million Euros over the next 3 years for research on proteins, to uncover the physiological basis for cognitive processes and mimetic cultural techniques

This news release is available in German.

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is establishing five new Research Units. This was decided by the DFG Senate at its October meeting. The purpose of the research collaborations is to offer researchers the possibility to pursue current, pressing issues in their subject areas and to establish innovative work directions.

Like with all DFG Research Units, collaboration will be interdisciplinary and span multiple locations. In the initial 3-year funding period, they will receive approximately 12 million euros. The DFG is thus currently supporting a total of 205 Research Units.

The new Research Units

(in alphabetical order by host university)

The "Data Assimilation for Improved Characterisation of Fluxes across Compartmental Interfaces" Research Unit will use complex and dynamic models to simulate water and energy flows from the ground water up to the atmosphere. Soil physicists and geophysicists, hydrogeologists and meteorologists will work with environmental physicists and experts in fluid mechanics from the universities of Augsburg, Bonn, Hamburg, Hanover and Tbingen and the Helmholtz Association institutes in Jlich and Leipzig to develop and thoroughly test data assimilation techniques. The researchers hope that the results and models will provide better options for weather and climate forecasting and improve quality assurance in water management, thus delivering fresh impetus to interdisciplinary research in a number of areas related to the environment.

(Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Clemens Simmer, University of Bonn)

The Bcl-2 (b-cell-lymphoma 2) family of proteins plays an important part in regulating programmed cell death. Over recent years, research has shown that complex molecular interactions in some members of the family facilitate cell death while others prevent it. Mutations and faulty regulation can contribute to the emergence and the development of therapy resistance in some types of cancer such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. The new Research Unit aims to provide "New Insights into Bcl-2 Family Interactions: From Biophysics to Function". Working groups from Germany, Austria and Switzerland will combine basic and pre-clinical research in an interdisciplinary approach that draws on and links biophysics, cellular and molecular biology, protein chemistry and human pathology. The desired outcome is a better understanding of the complex regulation of the Bcl-2 network in normal physiological processes and in pathogenesis, such as in normal and in malignant and abnormal haematosis.

(Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Thomas Brunner, University of Constance)

How are blood-forming stem cells in the human organism controlled by the regulatory structures of the cells that surround them? This question concerning the "stem cell niche" is of wide-ranging importance and is the focus of the "The Hematopoietic Niches" Research Unit, which will be represented in several locations: Munich, Freiburg, Dresden and Heidelberg. It intends to explain in detail the biology of the bone marrow niche and its role in health and disease. Working groups in basic and clinical research will work together to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms. They will combine genetic and molecular models and imaging processes and technologies. It is hoped that it will be possible to apply the findings in the long term to the treatment of blood diseases and go beyond that to improve the understanding of other stem cells.

(Spokesperson: PD Dr. Robert A. J. Oostendorp, Technical University of Munich)

In order to understand cognitive processes such as perception or communication, it is also necessary to know about the information flows in the brain which underlie them, from the neuronal and synaptic level to interactions across different areas of the brain. The Research Unit entitled "The Physiology of Distributed Computing Underlying Higher Brain Function in Non-human Primates" will bring neuroscientists from Tbingen, Gttingen, Frankfurt and Marburg together to study the assimilation of information and its modulation in defined neuronal circuits. Using modern electrophysiological methods, the researchers are hoping to gain new insight into central cognitive abilities and processes which it would not be possible to acquire from humans and rodents. As part of the project, it is intended to establish and make transparent ethical standpoints and standards concerning experiments on primates.

(Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Thier, University Hospital Tbingen)

The "History and Theory of Mimetic Practice" Research Unit will examine one of the most important and powerful categories of aesthetics. Since ancient times, mimesis (or imitation) has been the subject of much philosophical, artistic and cultural reflection. Researchers in cultural and media disciplines now want to take a fresh look at the practice of this productive cultural technique which they intend to recreate and interpret in their processes. They will look at very different areas of culture and consult very different references to investigate the question of how in the modern age a concept has developed from an aesthetic norm in the history of philosophy to have social and media-related dimensions.

(Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Siegert, Bauhaus University Weimar)

###

Further Information

Media contact:

DFG Press and Public Relations, Tel. +49 228 885-2443, presse@dfg.de

More detailed information is provided by the spokespersons of the established units.

For information on DFG Research Units and Clinical Research Units also see: http://www.dfg.de/for/en

---

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| E-mail



| Share

]

 

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/df-def101813.php
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6 killed, officer hurt in crash near Ohio capital

Police investigate the scene of a collision between a car and a police cruiser in Upper Arlington, Ohio early Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. An officer from the Columbus suburb of Upper Arlington was responding to a robbery report when the overnight crash occurred at an intersection, said Jason Pappas, head of the local police union. According to Pappas, six people in the other vehicle died, including a small child. The officer was being treated for a serious head injury at a hospital but was in stable condition. (AP Photo/Columbus Dispatch,Tom Dodge) MANDATORY CREDIT

Police investigate the scene of a collision between a car and a police cruiser in Upper Arlington, Ohio early Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. An officer from the Columbus suburb of Upper Arlington was responding to a robbery report when the overnight crash occurred at an intersection, said Jason Pappas, head of the local police union. According to Pappas, six people in the other vehicle died, including a small child. The officer was being treated for a serious head injury at a hospital but was in stable condition. (AP Photo/Columbus Dispatch,Tom Dodge) MANDATORY CREDIT

UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio (AP) — Police say six people were killed and an officer was injured when a car and a cruiser collided at an intersection just northeast of Ohio's capital overnight.

An officer from the Columbus suburb of Upper Arlington was responding to an armed robbery report when the crash occurred early Friday. Officials say the cruiser's lights were flashing, and they believe the siren also was being used.

The people killed in the other vehicle included a small child. Perry Township's police chief says authorities believe but haven't confirmed that the driver and a woman riding with him were the parents of the other four people, all girls.

The head of the local police union says the officer suffered a serious head injury but was in stable condition at a hospital.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-10-18-Ohio%20Crash-Six%20Dead/id-9f35b3034d1c421591d035dc51812ec2
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Need Motivation? There's An App Or Gadget For That

WASHINGTON (AP) — Welcome to the measured life.

When Tim Davis of Beaver, Pa., tipped the scales at 318 pounds two years ago, he bought a Fitbit gadget to track his physical activity and the Lose It! app on his phone to track calories. He bought a Wi-Fi-enabled scale that published his daily weight on his Twitter feed and turned to other apps to track his pulse, blood pressure, daily moods and medications. At one point, Davis said he was using 15 different apps and gadgets, which he said helped him drop 64 pounds by that following year.

A growing category of devices and software applications promises to measure the mundane details of our daily lives: calories burned, diaper changes, how much and how well we sleep, caffeine intake, kids' studying habits, household chores, even whether a baby is nursing more frequently on Mom's left breast versus her right.

The apps have become increasingly sophisticated, tapping into a niche market of everyday consumers and aspiring amateur scientists to conduct mini-experiments on themselves.

"It's the second-by-second, minute-by-minute changes that really did it," said Davis, 39. "If you're the type of person who likes gadgets and devices and to collect metrics, you're also the kind of person who does not like gaps in data."

These self-tracking consumers don't necessarily have high-tech backgrounds. But they like pie charts and graphs. They want their achievements highlighted in green, their failures coded red. They also want to compete, against themselves and others, and to create digital scrapbooks that can be referenced years from now.

"I don't know if I'd use the word 'obsessed,'" said Ernesto Ramirez, a self-tracking devotee who helped to organize a two-day conference on the subject last week in San Francisco. Speakers at past "Quantified Self" conferences have included a man who developed his own app to see if he could walk every street in Manhattan and a dad who used trackers on his kids to monitor chores.

"I think there's an overall trend toward curiosity and proving knowledge of one's self in the world," Ramirez added.

A pediatrician in Kansas City, Mo., Natasha Bugert, said apps that track newborn feedings and sleep patterns have become wildly popular among her patients and she now encourages parents to send her the data before their appointments.

"In the first few weeks, parents are so tired. It's really hard for them to give you objective data," Bugert said.

Public health advocates and researchers say tracking technology could be used to encourage people to use less gasoline, conserve water or drive slower by giving them real-time feedback on their daily habits. It also could expose causes of medical conditions that baffle doctors.

HopeLab, based in Redwood, Calif., is one nonprofit looking to harness technology to improve health. It has developed a $30 movement tracking device for kids called a "Zamzee," and a website that rewards activity with online points and badges.

HopeLab has developed video games for young cancer patients that lets them pretend to blast cancer cells. Researchers there say their studies have shown that the game improved patients' moods and encouraged them to stick with treatment.

Ramirez said he thinks the next step will be embedding sensors in nearly everything a person encounters throughout the day and linking that information together. Think of a car that won't start if you've consumed too much alcohol or a light bulb that changes colors when it's time to go to bed.

Industry watchers say these kinds of data-driven apps are finding their place in a market that has struggled to profit from advertising.

Raj Aggarwal, CEO of Localytics, a Boston-based analytics firm, says mobile games are still by far the most popular among consumers, but their fan base can be fickle. If a data-logging app is useful enough, it can convince consumers that they should pay for upgraded subscriptions or premium services that earn the developers money.

One mobile app called "GymPact" has found a novel way of making money off its consumers' data. The app lets people bet against one another as to whether they will go to the gym. The nonexercisers have to pay the exercisers, with GymPact taking a cut.

But what becomes of all this data?

In theory, most apps let you delete your information. But programs such as the FitBit reserve the right to keep and analyze your information, and possibly pass along the data to third parties to make sure the program works as promised. What would happen if these tech companies decide to package and sell all that data? Could a person ever be denied a job or life insurance, for example, if their mobile app showed they tried but never quit smoking?

Poorly encrypted data or lax privacy controls could become a problem, too.

In 2011, some FitBit users were surprised to see their sexual activity logs pop up in Google searches; that's something FitBit's privacy settings allowed at the time unless a person knew to opt out. FitBit has since modified its policy to keep hidden more sensitive data unless someone configures his or her account specifically to share it.

As for Davis, he said his biggest mistake was letting his FitBit gadget lose its charge last year. Without the continual feedback, and perhaps a mobile app to remind him, Davis' motivation waned and his weigh climbed to 292 pounds.

But Davis insists he won't stay that way for long. He has persuaded his family members and coworkers to wear self-measuring devices, sparking a friendly rivalry.

"Keep an eye on me," he said of the months ahead. "I think you'll see a difference."

___

Follow Anne Flaherty on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AnneKFlaherty

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=235194426&ft=1&f=
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Chickens Can't Fly lands on iPhone and iPad

Seeing as how iOS rules the roost as far as mobile games go, smaller competing platforms like Windows Phone don’t get too many exclusive games worth noting. Windows Phone has had some high profile Xbox-branded exclusives now and then, but they often end up migrating to Apple’s pastures as well. Wordament, Kinectimals, and Tentacles are a few such titles to jump ship from Windows Phone.

Chalk another one up for iOS. Chickens Can’t Fly from developer Amused Sloth has long been considered one of the best Xbox games for Windows Phone. Recently the game got pulled from that platform due to an In-App Purchase formatting bungle on Microsoft’s part, though it will return without Xbox features in the future. At the same time, Chickens Can’t Fly has migrated to iOS – currently the only place to get it!

Staying out of the fryer

In Chickens Can’t Fly, you play as a chicken who must navigate a variety of obstacles courses. The chicken is always falling downward, making for a sort of reverse Doodle Jump.  Tilting the device left and right steers the avian hero.

Chicken literally can’t stop falling, but you can at least slow him down in a couple of ways: touching walls cause shim to slide, while tapping the screen flaps his wings. Still, he continually gains speed the longer he stays alive, so even with those moves at your disposal, things get pretty hectic. Thankfully his speed resets whenever you pass a checkpoint.

Science gone wrong

The game’s 80+ experiments (levels) are divided up into six labs: Hatchery (tutorial levels), Butchery, Cemetery, Military, Physics, and Aquarium.

These labs are more than just different backdrops. Each one has unique powerups, powerdowns, and obstacles, making for a nice bit of variety. New items are usually introduced in their own specific experiment, with creative titles like “Does Chicken like 8-bit?” which involves the Pixelizer item. This teaches players what the items do organically.

Experiments can have a variety of different goals. Sometimes Chicken just needs to survive until the end. Other times he’s fighting against time or has to pick up a certain number of items by the time he reaches the end of the level. If you reach the bottom without meeting the experiment’s criteria, you fail and have to retry it.

Extra modes

Once you’ve completed a certain number of experiments within a lab, you’ll unlock that lab’s Survival mode. Rather than ending after a certain number of checkpoints, Survival is made up of endless checkpoints, so it lasts as long as you can stay alive. Passing checkpoints gives Chicken an extra life, so skilled players can potentially play for quite a while.

Weekly Challenges are specific Survival levels that change every week. This mode has its own global leaderboard, so players can compete against each other for high scores.

In-App Purchases

Chickens Can’t Fly packs a ton of content for $1.99. But players who want even more Chicken have a few optional purchases to choose from. The first is the Dojo set of levels for $1.99. The Dojo adds 10 new experiments and a ninja outfit for Chicken to wear.

Speaking of outfits, the game includes three skins automatically: naked, Girlie, and Diver. Players who need more variety to their wardrobes can pick up the Knight, Vampire, and Alien skins for 99 cents each.

Tastes like chicken

Chickens Can’t Fly is just as engaging now as when it debuted on Windows Phone last year. More so, in fact, thanks to some minor balance tweaks and fixes. Amused Sloth’s game features a charming art style, quirky sense of humor, and catchy music to boot. And GameCenter Achievements, why not. Give it a try and save the Chicken from the fryer.

• $1.99 – Download Now

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/snwe1EOueHE/story01.htm
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The Nexus 5 Accidentally Pops Up Early on Google Play for $350

Google's worst kept secret and possibly best upcoming Android phone has just unofficially revealed itself in the most official way possible... inside the actual Google Play Store.

Read more...

Source: http://gizmodo.com/nexus-5-pops-up-on-google-play-for-350-1447507439
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Mo. sex assault case expected to get fresh start

This photo taken on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013 shows the house in Maryville, Missouri that was burned while Melinda Coleman was trying to sell it. A 14-year-old girl who says she was raped by an older boy from her school could get another chance to bring the case to court after a prosecutor criticized for his handling of the case asked that a special prosecutor review the allegations. The girl's mother, Melinda Coleman, claims justice was denied when prosecutor Robert Rice dropped felony charges in March 2012, two months after she says her daughter was plied with alcohol, raped, then dumped on the family's front porch in sub-freezing temperatures. (AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger)

This photo taken on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013 shows the house in Maryville, Missouri that was burned while Melinda Coleman was trying to sell it. A 14-year-old girl who says she was raped by an older boy from her school could get another chance to bring the case to court after a prosecutor criticized for his handling of the case asked that a special prosecutor review the allegations. The girl's mother, Melinda Coleman, claims justice was denied when prosecutor Robert Rice dropped felony charges in March 2012, two months after she says her daughter was plied with alcohol, raped, then dumped on the family's front porch in sub-freezing temperatures. (AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger)

This photo taken on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013 shows the house in Maryville, Missouri that was burned while Melinda Coleman was trying to sell it. A 14-year-old girl who says she was raped by an older boy from her school could get another chance to bring the case to court after a prosecutor criticized for his handling of the case asked that a special prosecutor review the allegations. The girl's mother, Melinda Coleman, claims justice was denied when prosecutor Robert Rice dropped felony charges in March 2012, two months after she says her daughter was plied with alcohol, raped, then dumped on the family's front porch in sub-freezing temperatures. (AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger)

Melinda Coleman listens to a question during an interview in her home in Albany, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. Coleman says justice was denied when charges were dropped against the boys that her 14-year-old daughter said sexually assaulted her and a 13-year-old friend. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

County prosecutor Robert Rice, left, and Sheriff Darren White, back, hold a news conference outside the Nodaway County Court House in Maryville, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. Rice announced that he's asking for a special prosecutor to look at the case of a 14-year-old girl who says she was plied with alcohol and raped by a 17-year-old acquaintance. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

County prosecutor Robert Rice, right, and Sheriff Darren White hold a news conference outside the Nodaway County Court House in Maryville, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

MARYVILLE, Mo. (AP) — The case of a 14-year-old girl who says she was raped by an older boy from her Missouri high school and left passed out on her porch in freezing temperatures is expected to get a fresh start under a special prosecutor.

A special prosecutor will be able to launch his own investigation, interview witnesses and work independently from the local prosecutor who's faced intense scrutiny for dropping felony charges in the case last year, experts said Thursday.

"The idea is really to have a third party who is removed from the process, who can bring the appearance of objectivity and neutrality," said Richard Reuben, a professor at the University of Missouri School of Law. "At the end of the day they would look like a prosecutor who is truly independent."

The new prosecutor's final decision carries high stakes: It could settle the debate over whether Rice was right to drop the charges, or validate the accusers' outrage by pushing the case toward a trial.

Nodaway County prosecutor Robert Rice filed a motion Thursday for a judge to appoint a special prosecutor in the case, which has gained new attention after The Kansas City Star published results of a seven-month investigation.

The case and the publicity has shaken the small college town of Maryville, where the girl's mother, Melinda Coleman, said her family was forced to move after being harassed over the allegations. Her house in Maryville burned down while the family was trying to sell it, but a cause hasn't ben determined.

Coleman, was outraged when Rice dropped felony charges in March 2012, two months after she says her daughter was plied with alcohol, raped, then dumped on the family's front porch. She said her daughter's 13-year-old friend was raped by another boy the same evening.

"I think it's really good that we have a chance to have someone listen objectively," Coleman said Thursday. "That brings a lot of healing in itself."

Rice insists the initial investigation collapsed after the Colemans became uncooperative with investigators — something Coleman has denied.

Anchored by Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville may be best known as a football town, illustrated by the giant "bearcat" paw prints painted on Fourth Street and leading the way to the university's football stadium. Signs in the windows of local shops and bars support the Bearcats, whose annual game against rival Pittsburg State University is so big it's played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City and dubbed the Fall Classic.

Since the Star's story was published, the town has been deluged with negative reactions, most of it coming from people on social media who have condemned the town for seemingly abandoning sexual assault victims. The case now is the talk of the town, and locals are anxious for a resolution.

"I have some friends who get together, but since this has been going on, they have to sit and argue their opinions," said Kyle Ponder, a 22-year-old lifelong Maryville resident. "This is splitting the town in two."

Few have disputed the central facts of the case. Daisy Coleman was 14 on the night in January 2012 she and 13-year-old friend drank alcohol they stashed in a closet, sneaked out of the Colemans' Maryville home and met with three boys, including two 17-year-olds.

Daisy's mother says one of the older boys sexually assaulted her daughter while the girl was passed out, while the 15-year-old boy forced the 13-year-old to have sex in a different room. The second 17-year-old was accused of recording the incident involving Daisy on his cellphone.

The two older boys were initially charged as adults with felonies, while the younger boy's case was handled in the juvenile system. Months later, Rice dropped all the charges against the older boys, saying the victims had invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The boys have insisted the sex act involving Daisy Coleman was consensual.

Authorities say the cellphone video had been deleted and investigators at the regional forensics lab in Kansas City could not recover it from the cellphone.

The Associated Press does not generally name victims of sexual assault but is naming the Colemans because they have been granting public interviews about the case. The AP is not naming the accused boys because there are no active charges against them.

Rice says he's asking for a special prosecutor only because media stories have questioned the integrity of the county's justice system. He stands by claims that the case fell apart only after the Colemans and the other girl refused to answer questions.

A special prosecutor could seek to interview the original prosecutor as a witness in the case but would conduct an entirely separate investigation. A special prosecutor would investigate if there's been a crime and would have the authority to bring charges, said Reuben, the professor at the University of Missouri.

Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said special prosecutors are used often in Missouri. Zahnd, who has asked for special prosecutors and has also served as a special prosecutor, said the designation in Nodaway County could be given to any other lawyer in the state, including another county prosecutor or someone from the Missouri Attorney General's Office.

About a block off of Maryville's town square, Fred Robertson was cutting hair Thursday at his barbershop when the case came up. Robertson said it's sad that the town has been caught up in the media spotlight for something most people had nothing to do with.

"You can work all your life to have something good, and something like this can tear it up in a short time," he said. "There are no winners."

___

Maria Sudekum contributed to this report from Kansas City, Mo.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-10-17-Missouri-Teen%20Sex%20Assault/id-827f258dc2044df8952257caefc9b424
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Nikon D5300 is the company's first DSLR with built-in WiFi, ships this month for $800 (hands-on)

Nikon's been peddling a variety of wireless adapters throughout the last few DSLR refresh cycles. Little dongles like the $50 WU-1a enable WiFi connectivity for photographers who really need it, but it's hardly an elegant solution. Now, we finally have a Nikon digital SLR with 802.11 built in. It's ...

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/QHtPF-IAQ2Y/
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