Finding a replacement for Veronica

Scientists find previously unknown receptors on adult stem cells

For many years, researchers believed that stem cells in the bone marrow spent most of their existence in a slumber-like state, unaware of — and unaffected by — the daily battles fought by the body's immune system. Not so. Scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation have discovered that marrow stem cells — undifferentiated cells that eventually give rise to the blood cells that fight infection — possess receptors that recognize bacteria and viruses. When activated, these receptors kick the stem cells and immature blood cells into action, enlisting them to help fight whatever pathogen is attacking the body. The findings, which appear in the June issue of the journal Immunity, could have important implications for treating leukemias and autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. [lien] [EN]

NASA Finds Sensor Problem But Atlantis Launch Date No Closer

NASA troubleshooters determined on Tuesday that the problem that delayed space shuttle Atlantis’ launch by at least a month is not caused by defective fuel sensors as originally suspected, but by a bad connector that links wires from the sensors inside the shuttle's fuel tank to the outside. The findings were the result of a long test that monitored the sensors as the shuttle’s giant orange external tank was filled with 500,000 gallons of super-cold liquid hydrogen and then left to stand for hours before it was drained. It is a critical step to solving one of NASA’s most vexing problems since the shuttle returned to flight in 2005 after the Columbia disaster. "Today the sensors themselves were exonerated in this test, and this is clearly a problem in the wiring upstream as it comes out of the tank. [lien] [EN]

Guitar Hero replacement discs come rolling in

Filed under: News Many of you have been letting us know that you've received your Guitar Hero III replacement discs already, which is good news. The discs completely fix any sound issues, as promised, and only take about one to two weeks to arrive after sending in the claim form. Some readers have noted a difference in Star Power and missed note sounds, too. Is that the case for all of you? Activision is also offering full refunds for discs without Dolby Pro Logic II, if you'd rather have cash than a replacement. We're not sure when the fixed copies will end up in stores (or, if they already are), but we'll let you know as soon as we find out. If you have any comments to make about your new discs, or are still waiting on yours, feel free to let us know what's on your mind here. [lien] [EN]

Should Companies Replace BPA Baby Products In The U.S.? [Health]

There's nothing official about BPA in the U.S. (yet), and there's no legal reason (again, yet) for a company to refund or replace any products that have BPA in them. But with Canada's newly awarded "toxic" status on the chemical last week, and the subsequent announcements by Nalgene and Playtex that they would stop using BPA in their products, what do you think other companies should do? At least one reader who's now stuck with some BPA baby bottles thinks they should offer a refund. Hello Consumerist, After reading your articles on Canada banning BPA filled baby products and hopefully soon the US, I did some research and was shocked to find the ever popular "First Year's Breastflow" baby bottles I bought for myself last Christmas at Target were not BPA free. Nor has the "First Year" company done anything to remedy the BPA in their wide variety of baby products. [lien] [EN]

Why Does It Take IKEA Four Months To Replace A Defective Couch Cover? [Complaints]

Joyce has been waiting since December for IKEA to send her a replacement couch cover. IKEA admitted that the cover had a known defect, but since they were out replacements at the time, they promised to call Joyce a month later when new covers arrived. Joyce gave her information and asked for a reference number, but was told that one wouldn't be necessary. Wouldn't that have been nice? fast forward 4 months - no word, so i call customer service. i get bounced to the national handling and they said they cannot find my report. (of course). and then they said they would need to "document" my case, so they were going to forward me to someone else. i got forwarded to anthony who said my problem was a "quality issue" which they do not handle over the phone. and he said i had to go back into the store to resolve it. [lien] [EN]

Is the microarray replacing DNA as the icon for biomedicine and the life sciences?

recent biomed, art and biomed Is the microarray replacing DNA as the icon for biomedicine and the life sciences? It looks like microarray patterns are gradually replacing the DNA double helix as the central icon for biomedicine and the life sciences. For example, the new Center for Protein Research at the University of Copenhagen—funded for a ten-year period with 600 mill. DKK (~120 mill. USD) by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and fully operative some time in 2009—has just presented their logo: thereby adding to the growing iconicity of microarrays, the new wonder tool of life science research. Martha de Menezes famously turned it into art a couple of years ago, we put it as a wall-paper on our blog about a year ago, and many others are beginning to employ the dotted pattern as an icon of the power of bioinformatics and systems biology in the life. [lien] [EN]

Step two in Carl Icahn's five-point Yahoo plan: replace Yang [Yahoo Raid]

Corporate raider Carl Icahn laid out a five step plan for Yahoo in a letter to Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock today. In brief, Icahn wants to replace Yahoo's poison pill severance package, usher CEO Jerry Yang back into his role as "Chief Yahoo," tell Microsoft that it can have any of Yahoo unless it owns all of it, sell Yahoo, or failing that outsource search to Google. Find the plan in Icahn's own words, below. You [Roy Bostock] asked, 'what exactly would happen to our Company if you and your nominees were to take control of Yahoo!' I will give you my perspective on that. · First, I would work to have the board replace your "poison pill" severance plan with an acceptable alternative. · Second, I intend to ask our new board to hire a talented and experienced CEO (attempting to replicate Google's success with Eric Schmidt) to replace Jerry Yang and return Jerry to his role as "Chief Yahoo". [lien] [EN]

Fortune ranks Steve Jobs replacement candidates, but we know who it will be already [Apple]

Apple COO Timothy Cook is the man most likely to replace co-founder and current CEO Steve Jobs according to Fortune. Cook's deep knowledge of Apple's operations and ready command of detail has won him the respect of the board of directors and the investment community. A bachelor with a passion for cycling, he's as steady and low-key as Jobs is temperamental. Of course, as any Apple employee will tell you, "steady and low-key" doesn't strike the necessary fear into their hearts like Jobs' legendary tirades. Jonathan Ive, the wildly talented designer and crowd favorite for the role, is apparently even more soft-spoken, and too shy to carry the yoke of showman that he would inherit. However, secret plans not obtained by Valleywag have revealed Jobs' succession plans: A top secret project begun by Jobs while still at NeXT to take back Apple by force if necessary has been quietly resurrected by Ive. [lien] [EN]

Find Windows Embedded CE 6.0 info in MSDN easily!

Find Windows Embedded CE 6.0 info in MSDN easily! Here is a great Macro that will make your life easier if you are developing on Windows Embedded CE 6. The Live search engine enables building macros to customize search. Veronica built one you have to try and use: http://search.live.com/macros/windows_embedded/ce6/?FORM=OIJG Posted: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 2:04 AM by obloch Filed under: Windows CE, Windows Embedded, Windows Embedded CE [lien] [EN]

How to read out a Windows user SID and replace it in USERINFO table

This is needed if you are unable to log into the Axapta Client due to the following error message: "You are not a recognized user of Microsoft Dynamics AX"  Use the following Script to find the Windows user SID you want to change: strComputer = "." Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2") Set objAccount = objWMIService.Get _     ("Win32_UserAccount.Name='kenmyer',Domain='fabrikam'") Wscript.Echo objAccount.SID Now replace the SID using Microsoft SQL Server Mangement Studio, in the USERINFO table. Log in with the new user.         [lien] [EN]

IKEA Delivers Couch With Missing Cushion, Insists On Replacing Entire Couch [Common Sense]

We've all received IKEA furniture missing screws, but Marc received a couch missing an entire seat cushion. He figured IKEA would quickly hand over a replacement once he pointed out their obvious mistake. Nope! Several employees helpfully explained that the cushion "comes with the couch," and that finding a replacement was "impossible." A resourcefully inept manager finally resolved the situation by insisting that they replace the entire couch. Marc writes: I've never written to your site before, but this story was so over-the-top ridiculous I had to share it. In furnishing my new apartment, I recently bought a leather love seat from Ikea. For some reason, you can go in person to the store and order it for next day delivery, but you can't do the same action over the phone. [lien] [EN]

Okami replacement covers shipping with bonus!

Filed under: NewsHey, remember ordering replacement boxart for your copy of Okami? To make up for the unsightly blemish on the covers that came with the game (sorry, IGN), Capcom offered a selection of replacement art ranging from "the real cover, but IGN-free" to completely new, unconventional box designs, and we all got to pick one. We've had to wait a bit, but it turns out that we'll get all of them! According to Capcom's Colin Ferris, "Each cover sheet features the cleaned cover art on one side, and the two different new designs on the other." The covers are now on their way out, ready to adorn those copies of Okami that you forgot about or traded in. If you didn't order a replacement cover, perhaps because you didn't yet own Okami and are an honest person, you can still find the high. [lien] [EN]

Bravo Has a Project Runway Replacement Up Its Sleeve

The cash cow needs to be replaced! Look what Bravo posted on CraigsList! BRAVO TV NOW CASTING FASHION DESIGNERS FOR NEW REALITY SERIES! Do you think you have what it takes to be the world's next hot fashion designer? We are looking for designers to be part of Bravo's next fashion design series! We're currently accepting applications from talented designers where the winner will win a large cash prize. Let Bravo serve as the launching pad to catapult your fashion career into high gear! All applicants MUST meet with our fashion consultant at one of our nationwide casting calls (LA, NYC, MIA, CHI) in order to be considered for the show! You can download the application and find out how you can apply by going to our website! http://www.bravotv.com/Casting/index.php LOS ANGELES CASTING INFORMATION DATE. [lien] [EN]

Offensive Replacement Level By Position

I like reading about baseball, especially from bloggers who really know their own team. But as a guy who's into the sabermetric point of view, it can be frustrating to wade through a lot of team-specific blogs to find the one I want to read. So, I need your help. For the American League teams, please share what you think are the best sabermetric-oriented team blogs. You know, stuff like USSMariner and Lookout Landing -- sites that will use phrases like "wins above replacement" and "fielding-independent pitching", and that will post tables with numbers without first apologizing. Feel free to pimp your own blog or comment on others, but let's keep this as positive as possible, and not put down blogs or authors. If there's any consensus on really good sabermetric team blogs or if I find blogs that I really like. [lien] [EN]

Biologists find stem cell-like functions in other types of plant cells

Ordinary cells have the ability to replace lost organs in plants—a function previously thought to be limited to stem cells—researchers at New York University’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology and Utrecht University in the Netherlands have found. The findings, which suggest that some roles of stem cells in organ regeneration may be shared by other types of cells, are published in the latest issue of the journal Nature. Stem cells have two known fundamental properties: they can renew themselves and they can give rise to specialized cells. These traits make them the engines for regeneration, creating new cells to replace lost organs and tissue. These phenomena are especially evident in plants, which continually re-grow their branches and roots. The center of stem cell activity is a stem cell niche. [lien] [EN]