Like a magician who says, "Pick a card, any card," computer scientist Debashis Sahoo seemed to be offering some kind of trick when he asked researchers to pick any two genes already known to be involved in stem cell development. Finding such genes can take years and hundreds of thousands of dollars, but Sahoo was promising the skeptical stem cell scientists that, in a fraction of a second and for practically zero cost, he could find new genes involved in the same developmental pathway as the two genes provided. Sahoo went on to show that this amazing feat could actually be performed.

--BENJAMIN NETANYAHU

Corey Feldman will not be at Corey Haim's funeral today out of respect for his best friend and fellow former child star's family's wishes, the actor said in a statement.

"In the days following my best friend Corey Haim's death, I have spent much time with his mother Judy, who has always been like a mother to me," Feldman said.

"Due to their strong religious beliefs and need for privacy," he continued. "The family has decided to make Corey Haim's funeral on Tuesday a small private affair."

The private funeral service will take place Tuesday in Toronto, and is funded Startifacts, a celebrity memorabilia Web site, which volunteered to donate $20,000.

The money for the funeral will come from the auctioning off Haim's belongings. His family asks fans to send flowers to a local cancer ward instead of the service.

Corey Feldman will be MIA today, but says he will be planning a separate, public memorial for his Lost Boys co-star that will reportedly take place around April 2.

"I am working with a few people who were close to Corey to put a memorial together within the next month," he said. "The media will be invited to honor and celebrate the legacy he left behind, along with friends, fans and the Hollywood community."

Corey Haim died Wednesday at the age of 38 of an apparent drug overdose while at his mother's Los Angeles. He fought a long battle with substance abuse in life.

Haim's mom said he had an enlarged heart, pulmonary congestion and water in his lungs at the time of his death, which has been linked to a massive drug ring.

The L.A. County Coroner's office is awaiting results of toxicology tests and has not ruled out a drug overdose, though it does not appear to be foul play or suicide.

Red shirt protesters say they will splatter government buildings with their own blood.

Located in Chicago & Northern Suburbs, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare is an academic health system affiliated with Northwestern University and all attending physicians are on faculty at the Feinburg School of Medicine.

AP - Asian stock markets were mixed Tuesday as investors held back ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest assessment of the world's largest economy.

This week, we're looking at the ever-increasing digitization of memory, and indeed, today's technologies can even access memories stored on the most closely-guarded of hard drives: our brains. In a recent study, MRIs accurately predicted what individuals were remembering. More »

AP - Somewhat bluntly, Barack Obama's former teacher sums up the neighborhood thinking when the future American president turned up with his family in Indonesia's capital more than 40 years ago.

Oil Market Summary 03/08/2010 to 03/12/2010Crude oil prices tread water for the week as uncertainty about demand continued to weigh on the market. Prices were down slightly on the week, with the benchmark West Texas Intermediate settling on Friday at $81.24 a barrel, compared with $81.50 a week ago.Not even relatively bullish forecasts for oil demand, such as the International Energy Agency’s report on Friday raising its forecast by 70,000 barrels a day for 2010, or the decline in the dollar could propel oil prices forward.One analyst even predicted crude oil prices dipping below $60 a barrel in the second half of the year. Ronald-Peter Stöferle, a raw materials analyst at Austria ’s Erste Bank, said that oil is relatively expensive by historical standards, and current prices are not justified by demand.Moreover, Stöferle notes, OPEC seems to prefer a price between $70 and $80 a barrel to keep unconventional sources such as shale oil and oil sands, or alternative energy sources like solar and wind, from becoming economically competitive.In any case, this analyst expects oil prices could rise further in the first half of this year, even hitting $100 a barrel, but will average only $72 a barrel over the second half due to weak demand and other factors. In particular, he thinks too many hopes are pinned on growth in China ’s economy. “We are critical of the blind trust in the Chinese economy as recovery and growth engine,” Stöferle said, adding that China cannot be a “messiah for the global economy.”The IEA’s forecast for an increase of 1.6 million barrels a day in crude oil demand this year to 86.6 million barrels a day was quickly eclipsed by another report on Friday. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, which declined in March to 72.5 from 73.6 in February, indicated that consumers remain uncertain about the future. Analysts had expected a small increase for the month.The euro gained ground against the dollar, rising above $1.37. The dollar, already weak, declined further after reports that San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank president Janet Yellen, considered a “dove” on interest rates, will be nominated as vice chairman of the Fed. This would increase the likelihood of U.S. rates remaining low.Source: http://www.oilprice.com/article-crude-prices-stagnate-amid-doubts-about-global-demand.htmlBy Darrell Delamaide of OilPrice.com who focus on, Fossil Fuels Metals, Crude Oil Prices and Geopolitics To find out more visit their website at: http://www.oilprice.com

Yesterday I forgot four passwords, two book titles, and one pair of pants despite sticky notes reminding me of each. Since then, I've read HowStuffWorks' suggestions on improving memory. I forgot if they worked, but let's review 'em anyway. More »

Fox hyped this hour of "24" like crazy, saying it would be a game changer. Not quite, Rupert, but it had to have been fun to thoroughly destroy another expensive-looking set.I fear it isn't over by a long shot, but at least Bill Prady (no, notthatone) has committed himself to exposing each and every one of Dana's more recent lies to him. Once he barges into CTU, he entrenches himself and begins drilling her on every conceivable question he can ask about Kevin and Nick. After she apologizes for the earlier fibbing, she tries to cover by blaming it on wedding planning stress and whatnot. Of course, Bill still isn't buying it, even going as far as to wander unescorted onto the main CTU bullpen in order to get his answers. He launches into how he knows she disabled the NYPD security cameras for Kevin... a thought that nearly makes Dana hurl right onto his face.Scared for her life (and rightly so), Dana calls Cole to tell him that she may be facing hard time in the Supermax for all her sins. Maybe not that harsh, but Cole comes to realize that Dana's in deeper than he first thought. And yet, somehow (ever the consummate professional), he's able to keep his composure in the presence of Jack Bauer.Back at the Teodore Hotel, Tarin knows that Kayla knows that he's up to no good. He begs for her to leave with him, but is forced to bust through the bathroom wall in order to get her out. This is about the time Jack and Cole arrive to take him out. Thanks to the NYPD, they disobey Jack's order to stand-down and three officers are lost in the process of Tarin escaping. Bauer is really on his game this hour, as he's easily able to detect Tarin's attempt at fooling CTU... yet with the help of a friendly cabbie, Tarin escapes with Kayla in tow.President Hassan is now faced with his biggest challenge yet: save his daughter but give up File 33 (detailing every flaw in the nuclear defenses of the USA), or protect America and watch Kayla die. Jack proposes transmitting a fake File 33 and stalling long enough while they attempt to extract Kayla. Naturally the back-and-forth proves irrelevant as turncoat Tarin turns yet again and helps Kayla escape her captors, only to be shot as they start the getaway car. Her lover dead, Kayla speeds away.When the time to produce File 33 is up and Kayla hasn't returned to the private web stream, everyone begins to fear the worst. Indeed, mere seconds later, the endangered daughter calls CTU (just like Tarin told her to do), and they guide her to the bunker. At the same time, Evil Team Samir makes their exit from the vacant bank with Jack and Cole hot on their heels. Just before they get away, Arlo isolates the face of one of Samir's henchmen... it's Tarin! He's alive! Jack, (still on his game this hour), finally realizes the true plan all along: Kayla was allowed to get away as her car contained a bomb designed to take out CTU. Brian Hastings alerts the CTU crew to save and shut down the computers before the car arrives. No one can stop Kayla from making it into the CTU tunnel, where the device turns out to be a highly charged EMP that detonates and practically destroys the New York branch of the Counter Terrorism Unit.If ever there was a worse time for Jack and Cole to be operating completely disconnected from CTU, it would be now... the official halfway point of Day 8.

AP - English progressive rockers turned 1980s pop stars Genesis and the harmony-driven Hollies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, joined by ABBA, another act that thrived in a second life.

Microsoft showed off its new retro-tastic Game Room UI for Xbox 360 in playable form at GDC last week. While the "make a virtual representation of a gaming space" idea might seem ripped straight from Sony's Home, there aren't really any actual similarities -- outside of the fact they're both in 3D, at least. You dive disembodied through the different game rooms pretty intuitively, with different company collections on the bottom "level" of the mall-like UI, and upper levels set aside for your own collections of the games. Unfortunately, once you actually select an arcade cabinet, the UI gets rather overly complex, with all sorts of modes you can play the game in, sorts of scores to be tracked and an indecipherable menu tree that makes it a real chore to exit a game. We're sure arcade fanatics, ready to pit their scores against the best of them and looking for truly in-depth functionality are going to love all this, but for us poor simpletons it's a little much to take in all at once. Luckily, Microsoft saved the best for the actual gameplay. Not only does it nicely emulate inserting coins and even entering in codes on a virtual keypad, but when playing games in the non-ranked classic mode there's a "rewind" function accessible at any time with the tug of the left trigger. The screen gets those VHS-style wavey lines and you can mend your errors instead of losing a valuable life or having to start from the beginning. It's perfect for patching over the quarter-munching difficulty of some of these games, and it might even be enough to pull us away from our polygon-drenched gorefests now and then to don an inexplicable bear avatar and spelunk some Crystal Castles. Check out a video of Game Room after the break, and stand by for a launch of the service on March 24.

Continue reading Microsoft's Game Room for Xbox 'rewinds' the hits in our hands-on demo

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Politico - Liberal leaders are expecting a wave of anger if Congress fails to pass health care.

THE remains of two SAS diggers missing in action since the 1960s Confrontation with Indonesia have been found in West Kalimantan (Borneo).

Reuters - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday rejected any curbs on Jewish settlement in and around Jerusalem, defying Washington in Israel's deepening crisis with U.S. President Barack Obama's administration.

One day, you're going to die. And when you do, you online presence—like your social network profiles, your blog comments, and your web services—will serve as your very first memorial. Here's how it'll play out. More »

When you are seriously considering attending a laser hair removal school, you'll first want to find out the facts, to make sure you're choosing the best course for your particular future.

AP - Justice John Paul Stevens, at 89 the Supreme Court's oldest member, says he will decide in the next month or so whether this term will be his last.

The next two weeks in Congress may provide an answer to the metaphysical question "Can Democrats govern?" If the answer turns out to be "no," then a large part of the electorate is going to decide that it is pointless to bother electing large majorities of Democrats to Congress, because they simply can't get anything done when they get there. If the answer turns out to be "yes" (or even "kind of"), then Democrats may have a chance to make the case this fall that electing lots of Democrats is the way for the voters to go.

In the next two weeks, two major pieces of legislation will be in the news. The first, of course, is health reform. The second was just introduced today by Senator Chris Dodd, and it deals with Wall Street reform, and consumer protection. Dodd's bill has a long way to go, but it'll start the process in his committee soon.

President Obama faced an enormous challenge when he took office, because our financial system appeared to be on the brink of outright collapse. For the past year, this danger has faded and the economy is beginning to show signs of bouncing back -- a stunning achievement in such a short period of time, but one for which Obama doesn't get a lot of credit at times. But the problem is that Wall Street is still playing by the same rules that led to the near-collapse. The regulatory structure has not been changed yet to prevent the exact same thing from happening at any future point. Congress has not acted yet. Well, to be precise, the House has acted (and passed a fairly strong bill), and the Senate has not. Which is why Dodd's draft of a bill is big news, because the Senate is finally making a little progress on the issue.

On health reform, Democrats are approaching the finish line (finally!) after spending much of the last year on the subject. But success is not guaranteed, even at this point. White House officials and Democratic leadership sound confident so far that they've got the process under control and the necessary votes under their belt, but this is not the same thing as a guarantee that within two weeks both health reform bills will be on Obama's desk awaiting his signature. No matter what happens in the end, it's going to be a lively few weeks in Washington, that's for sure.

But, on both these issues, the core question boils down to: Can Democrats govern? Can they actually do what is necessary, once they get power in Washington? Can they follow through on the campaign promises that got them there? Can they behave like adults and fix our nation's problems to avoid future financial disaster, or are Democrats just incapable of actually taking necessary action -- even when they've got large majorities?

If Democrats can manage to pass the two health reform bills (without somehow tripping over their own metaphorical feet while attempting to do so), then the American public will take notice. Whether one loves or hates the plan Democrats are trying to pass, its passage will be a political fact. Voters will agree on the basic fact: "Well, they got it done." Whether that motivates voters to support Democrats who managed to pass such landmark legislation, or whether it motivates voters to "throw the bums out" remains to be seen, but at least such elections will hinge on the fact that Democrats passed something, and not "Well, we tried our best, maybe next time."

Now, I'm not trying to predict how individual voters will act, come November. All I'm saying is that on the question of basic competence in governing, Democrats are going to have a lot easier time explaining their position if they can point to tangible legislation which they managed to pass. Otherwise, they'll just have excuses for why they wasted a year without having anything to show for the effort. And that's not a very cheerful thing to try to run a campaign on.

Regulating Wall Street falls into the same category -- basic competence. We have a set of rules for Wall Street to operate under. The rules failed to prevent a near-disaster. We barely survived this near-disaster. So, to prevent future repeats of this performance, any sane individual would agree that the rules need to be changed -- and beefed up. In specific, rules which cover the causes which led to the problems. It's been about a year and a half after the near-disaster struck. And yet the rules remain the same.

This one's even easier than health reform, because Democrats can so easily position themselves as on the side of the consumer of financial products (mortgages, in particular), and their opponents on the side of The Big Banks, or just Wall Street. Republicans aren't going to go along with Democratic ideas (that's pretty much a given, especially since Dodd bent over backwards trying to get Republicans on board, but finally wrote his own bill in frustration with the endless delays and obstructionism). Meaning Republicans will have to explain out on the campaign trail why they're for letting Wall Street operate exactly the same way as led to the near-disaster.

Once again, to any sane individual, crafting some new Wall Street regulations is a no-brainer. Doing so means whoever is in charge is capable of governing. Not doing so means incompetence.

Which is why I'll be following both pieces of legislation closely in the next few weeks. Democratic chances in the upcoming congressional elections may hinge mostly on where the unemployment rate is around October, I realize. But although the economy in general will likely be the major factor in the elections this year, Democrats also need to prove that they are capable of governing when the voters give them the chance. This means being able to pass legislation Democratic politicians have been promising their voters for years, and it also means being able to react to a crisis by passing legislation to avoid the same problem in the future. It means, in short, being able to govern.

Because if Democrats are seen as the party that tries real hard (but never manages to get anything actually accomplished), then it's hard to fathom why voters would get enthusiastic about the party. "Close" only counts in horseshoes, as they say. If this is truly the case, then ironically the Democrats actually become the "party of no" -- because the only reason left to elect them is to prevent Republicans from passing their agenda. And the slogan "Elect a lot of Democrats so that we can stop the Republican agenda, and waste a lot of time fooling around with things we can't pass" just isn't going to cut the mustard.

Either Democrats can govern -- and can make this case to the public during the campaign -- or they cannot. The next few weeks will be critical in answering this fundamental question.

 

Chris Weigant blogs at:

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