EPD recently was voted one of the winners for Institutional Investor magazine's 2012 "All America Executive Team". Michael Creel, Enterprise Products Partners president/CEO discusses business strategies for growth in domestic energy.
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Scientists have found a gene that causes Weaver syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that typically causes large size at birth, tall stature, developmental delay during childhood, and intellectual disability. Published today in the American Journal of Human Genetics, the discovery means that testing the EZH2 gene for mutations could help families who are seeking a diagnosis for their child.
"For the families among whom we identified the gene, this discovery definitively brings the diagnostic odyssey to a close ? it's DNA confirmation that their children have Weaver syndrome," says Dr. William Gibson, the study's lead investigator. Dr. Gibson is a clinician scientist at the Child & Family Research Institute at BC Children's Hospital and an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
"Our discovery enables DNA-based diagnostic testing for this particular disease," says Dr. Gibson. "For physicians who suspect Weaver syndrome in one of their patients, we can now confirm it if we find mutations in EZH2. There may still be other Weaver syndrome genes, and we need to study more families to be sure."
Presently, doctors diagnose Weaver syndrome by assessing a child's face, growth, skeleton and other clinical features. People with Weaver syndrome have an oversized head, typical facial features, problems with muscle tone and joints, and differences in the way their skeleton matures. Mutations in the NSD1 gene, which normally causes a rare disease called Sotos syndrome, are also known to cause Weaver syndrome in some cases. There may be other genes involved in Weaver syndrome that are yet to be discovered.
"Now we have an answer for these families and we are also in a position to provide answers to other families affected by this rare and difficult disease," says Dr. Gibson. He is available to see new patients clinically for diagnosis of Weaver syndrome. As a result of this discovery, Dr. Gibson's team now offers sequencing of the EZH2 gene on a research basis in partnership with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Dr. Gibson's team can be contacted by email at wtgibson@cfri.ubc.ca.
Traditionally, hunting for a disease-causing gene has relied on tracking a gene throughout a family's history. However, Weaver syndrome usually occurs only once in a family, as it is thought to be caused by a new genetic mutation in the sperm or egg that conceived the child. For this study, the investigators sought patients with Weaver syndrome from Canada and the United States. They approached Dr. David Weaver, who discovered the syndrome in 1974 and is professor emeritus of Medical and Molecular Genetics at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. In two families that Dr. Weaver had examined, the Canadian team looked for brand new genetic mutations by comparing the DNA of affected children to DNA from their unaffected parents. Once the investigators identified EZH2 as a candidate gene, they sequenced it in DNA samples from a third Canadian family. They confirmed that an EZH2 mutation was in this third family's child but not in either of her healthy parents.
EZH2 is a cancer gene that is known to be mutated in leukemia, B-cell lymphomas and some other blood cancers. The gene helps control how DNA is packaged around specific proteins, which in turn helps to regulate which groups of genes are turned off and on.
"Our finding illuminates an emerging area of biology that links developmental syndromes and cancer," says Dr. Gibson. "It appears that some mutations in EZH2, if these occur early in life, produce developmental syndromes such as Weaver syndrome, whereas mutations in the same gene that occur later in life can produce cancer."
Dr. Steven Jones is the study's senior author who led the DNA sequencing and bioinformatics. He is head of bioinformatics and associate director of the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer Agency, professor in the UBC Department of Medical Genetics, and professor, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry at Simon Fraser University (SFU).
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Child & Family Research Institute: http://www.cfri.ca/
Thanks to Child & Family Research Institute for this article.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116102/Gene_discovered_for_Weaver_syndrome
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Shenandoah Valley Animal Services in Lyndhurst has joined other animal welfare organizations in the area that list their homeless pets on Petfinder.com, the oldest and largest database of adoptable animals on the Internet.
The site currently has over 359,000 homeless pets listed, and it is updated continuously.
More than 13,500 animal welfare organizations in the U.S., Canada, and other countries post their pets on the site. Shenandoah Valley Animal Services pets may be viewed at www.petfinder.com/shelters/VA599.html.
A potential adopter enters search criteria for the kind of pet he or she wants, and a list is returned that ranks the pets in proximity to the Zip code entered. Adoptions are handled by the animal placement group where the pet is housed, and each group has its own policies.
Petfinder.com was created in early 1996 as a grassroots project by Jared and Betsy Saul to end the euthanasia of adoptable pets. Since its inception, the site has facilitated approximately 20 million adoptions, making it the most life-saving initiative in animal welfare.
Sponsors include The Animal Rescue Site, BISSELL Homecare, Inc., a manufacturer of home cleaning and floor care products, PETCO, a national pet supply retailer that sponsors in-store adoptions and provides coupon books for new adopters, PetFirst Healthcare, the exclusive pet insurance provider for Petfinder.com, Merial, maker of the number one veterinary-recommended flea and tick preventative, FRONTLINE(r), and heartworm preventative, HEARTGARD(r), And HomeAgain, a microchip and pet recovery service.
Source: http://augustafreepress.com/2011/12/15/local-shelter-lists-homeless-pets-online/
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For the first time, a US appellate court has ruled that the federal government must continue to protect an animal ? in this case, Yellowstone grizzly bears ? in part because of consequences of global warming.
Yellowstone National Park, Wyo.
Even more than their high-profile polar cousins, Yellowstone grizzly bears could become the newest cause c?l?bre for how global warming is threatening ecosystems worldwide.
Skip to next paragraphOn Nov. 22, a US appellate court ruled for the first time that the federal government must continue to protect an animal ? in this case, Yellowstone grizzlies ? in part because of the emerging effects of rising temperatures.
For environmentalists arguing that urgent congressional action to combat global warming is needed, the ruling is seen as a benchmark that establishes a legal foothold. It could lower the bar on when the government should take action to try to preserve species threatened by climate changes.
Moreover, the ruling opens the door to charges that federal programs designed to conserve species one at a time ? such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA) ? could be overwhelmed by a mega-event like climate change, which could affect whole suites of flora and fauna.
"It raises the question of what happens when one species gets in trouble, and its decline pulls the rug out from another species," says attorney Doug Honnold, who helped conservation groups halt the removal of grizzlies from federal protection.
In its ruling, the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said the country's famous Yellowstone bruin population should remain classified as "threatened" under the ESA. The reason: One of its primary food sources is being wiped out, with help from global warming, many scientists say.
Grizzlies gorge on highly nutritious seeds in the cones of whitebark pines. Studies show the nutlike edibles are important in producing healthier, fatter bears and larger numbers of cubs. In addition, because whitebark grow on remote mountain ridgelines, their location draws foraging bears away from places where people live.
However, within the past decade, an outbreak of mountain pine beetles and a disease called blister rust have decimated the whitebark pine forest. Aerial surveys indicate that more than 80 percent of whitebark trees are now dead or dying.
Experts blame warmer temperatures with hastening the spread of beetles that otherwise would be beaten back by cold winters. They say the die-off is unprecedented, prompting an effort to have whitebark itself put on the federal protected list.
The Ninth Circuit's order stays in effect at least until the US Fish and Wildlife Service can figure out a way to deal with the whitebark pine forest's dramatic disappearance.
Indirectly, it also raises questions about similarly threatened species. For example, a tiny alpine rodent, the heat-intolerant pika, is disappearing from mountainous areas in the West. Biologists also worry about impacts of reduced snowpack trends on wolverine, white-tailed ptarmigan, and yellow-bellied marmot.
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Badoo, the online network for meeting new people recently reached 130 million registered users and now brings in $100 million a year. Based out of London's Silicon Roundabout, Badoo would be the 4th biggest social network if it was just a social network. But Badoo adapts to the local needs of its international user base. To give us insight into how Badoo reached its stellar revenues, built its user base, and succeeded in Europe, we brought Chief Marketing Officer Jessica Powell in to talk to us on TechCrunch TV. Watch as she tells us how 50% of the conversations on Badoo now lead to an offline meetup.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Gy-kaMMl3KE/
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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - His adventures have taken him around the world, captured hearts across Europe and courted controversy, but can a computer animated 3D Hollywood blockbuster about a boy journalist from Belgium win over American audiences?
Belgians have flocked to see "The Adventures of Tintin - The Secret of the Unicorn," a new film by director Stephen Spielberg which brings to life the fictional exploits of a cartoon character who is a household name in Europe.
Many in a country where several museums and cafes are dedicated to Tintin's exploits hope that the silver screen treatment from the director who brought us "Indiana Jones," "Jurassic Park" and "E.T." will spread the cartoon hero's fanbase across America when it opens there on December 21.
"Perhaps, since it is Spielberg the reception will be good," said Daniile Van der Schueren, 65, from Brussels.
Brussels-born author Georges Remi, who is better known as Herge, first sent the fictional boy journalist with the tufted ginger hair on adventures in a 1929 comic strip series.
From then until Herge's death in 1983, Tintin and his faithful little white dog Snowy solved some of the cartoon world's most befuddling mysteries and thwarted a series of diabolical criminals with the help of their friends, Captain Haddock, the professor and policemen Thomson and Thompson.
So it's hardly surprising that more than three quarters of a million Belgians went to see the new film in the first five weeks after its October 26 release, according to Sony Pictures.
Belgians, proud of a comic strip history which also includes the Smurfs, Gaston and Lucky Luke hope the movie inspires Americans to delve into the original Tintin books, and to discover more about Belgium.
"I hope now, when people think about Belgium they don't think only about chocolate, about French fries, about mussels, but also about Tintin, which is a part of our history," said Julien Van Noppen, 22, from Brussels.
ROLE MODEL
Adult fans say Tintin provides an excellent role model for children.
"There is a kind of moral lesson -- you have to be brave and you have to be sincere," said Brussels bookseller Anne de Bardzki.
Tintin and Snowy are inseparable in the adventures and Tintin is continually extricating the accident-prone captain from one dire scrape after another.
"Tintin will do everything to save his friends," said Etienne Chevalier, Belgian correspondent for Tintinologist.org, an English language Tintin fan website.
Tintin also teaches restraint. He gets into fist fights and sometimes picks up the bad guy's gun, but never shoots first.
"I read a lot of comics, French, Belgian and Japanese," Van Noppen said. "When you see Tintin, it is really less violent."
While the reception of Spielberg's movie has been generally positive, there has been some criticism in Europe about the Americanization of some action sequences and extensive use of special effects.
HUMOR AND CHARACTERS
Spielberg's movie draws on three of Herge's 24 Tintin adventures and brings his brand of Belgian slapstick humor front and center.
Captain Haddock provides comic relief by continually choosing booze over bravery. The two incompetent policemen, near identical twins, named Thompson and Thomson add to the hilarity by repeating each other's sentences, tripping over crooks and wearing ludicrous disguises that dupe no one.
Some hope the movie will help the image of Belgium, a country that has become the butt of jokes for taking more than 500 days to form a national government after elections in June 2010, and a place where that old question "name 10 (or even five) famous Belgians" continues to flummox most people.
"Tintin is so friendly and welcoming; also he is a clever man," said Francoise Steux, 65. "We don't always see the Belgians as clever, but we are."
While each reader has their own favorite Tintin book, most would place "The Secret of the Unicorn" and its sequel "Red Rackham's Treasure" close to the top of their lists, along with those in which Tintin travels to the moon, -- "Destination Moon" and "Explorers on the Moon," -- versions which were first published 19 years before American astronauts finally landed there in 1969.
CONTROVERSY
Despite their enduring popularity, Herge's comic books are not without controversy and show a darker side to Belgian history -- not least "Tintin in the Congo," which reflects Belgium's colonial past in Africa.
First published in 1930, it has been criticized by many as racist.
Congolese-born campaigner, Bienvenu Mbutu Mondondo, filed a lawsuit in late September alleging racism and demanded the book be banned. In October, a Belgian judicial advisor recommended the country's courts reject the legal bid to ban the book.
Some racist language has been removed from previous editions, but the Africans depicted remain crude caricatures.
"The one in Africa is really difficult to read now, it has terrible way of saying things," de Bardzki said. "You cannot read them to a child now without saying, this is awful, or this you cannot say."
In the past, critics also disapproved of Jewish names being used for villainous characters. Some of these were changed in later editions, but Herge remains controversial because he continued publishing in a collaborationist newspaper, while Belgium was under Nazi control in World War Two.
"He was no progressive man so he just reflected the situation, the way of thinking of ordinary conservative people," de Bardzki said.
Even so, many Belgians and Europeans continue to see Tintin as a universal character, a defender of the underdog and a force for good in the world.
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WASHINGTON ? Republican Mitt Romney accuses President Barack Obama of considering America "just another nation." To other GOP politicians running for the White House, Obama has apologized for the United States and is presiding over the nation's decline.
Now comes the counteroffensive.
The president of the United States is defending his faith in America, confronting GOP efforts to undercut his leadership and raise questions about his patriotism as he seeks re-election.
In the battle over "American exceptionalism," Obama used a recent trip to Asia to highlight America's role as the strongest and most influential nation on earth. In this election season, responding to the Republican critique is essential for Obama, the only incumbent ever compelled to show a birth certificate to defend his legitimacy.
"Sometimes the pundits and the newspapers and the TV commentators love to talk about how America is slipping and America is in decline," Obama said Wednesday at a New York fundraiser. "That's not what you feel when you're in Asia. They're looking to us for leadership. They know that America is great not just because we're powerful, but also because we have a set of values that the world admires."
"We don't just think about what's good for us, but we're also thinking about what's good for the world," he said. "That's what makes us special. That's what makes us exceptional."
Republicans have seized on "American exceptionalism," a belief among many in the nation that the U.S. is special among global powers, and tried to portray Obama as expressing ambivalence about the promise of his own country. The message resounds with party activists who still admire President Ronald Reagan, who memorialized America as that "Shining City on a Hill" during the 1980s.
"We have a president right now who thinks America's just another nation. America is an exceptional nation," Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, said during a GOP debate in Las Vegas last month. Even his campaign slogan ? "Believe in America" ? suggests that the current president doesn't.
Others have tried to use it to their advantage.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, in an interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly last month, said Obama had "traveled around the country making excuses for America, apologizing for America, saying that America is not an exemplary country."
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich criticized Obama after 16 Latin American and Caribbean nations filed "friend of the court" briefs in a Justice Department lawsuit against a tough new immigration law in South Carolina, home to an important GOP primary. "It makes you wonder what country does President Obama think he is president of," Gingrich said.
Obama has given detractors ample material for their attacks.
At a San Francisco fundraiser in October, the president talked about the importance of investing in education, new roads and bridges and other ways to build the economy.
"We used to have the best stuff. Anybody been to Beijing Airport lately?" Obama said, asking what has changed. "Well, we've lost our ambition, our imagination, and our willingness to do the things that built the Golden Gate Bridge and Hoover Dam." Republicans picked up on the comments, accusing Obama of calling Americans unambitious.
During a meeting with business executives in Honolulu last month, Obama was asked about impediments to investment in the U.S. He said many foreign investors see opportunity here, "but we've been a little bit lazy, I think over the last couple of decades." The "lazy" comments were quickly turned into an attack ad from Perry.
During a 2009 news conference, Obama was asked whether he subscribed to the concept of American exceptionalism. He said he believed in American exceptionalism, "just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism."
The president said he was "enormously proud of my country" and highlighted the nation's "core set of values enshrined in our Constitution" that ensure democracy, free speech and equality. Words that voters are likely to hear more of during the next year.
A Gallup poll in December 2010 found that 80 percent of Americans thought the U.S. had a unique character that made it the greatest country in the world. The survey found that 91 percent of Republicans agreed with the statement.
In the same poll, 34 percent of Republicans said Obama believed the U.S. was the greatest country in the world, while 83 percent of Democrats said he did.
The American exceptionalism argument has traditionally signaled U.S. strength overseas and the promotion of American values such as freedom of speech and religion. But with Obama's rise, it has taken on a new meaning.
At a time of economic discord, it builds on the notion that America's weakened economy could hurt its standing across the globe. It offers a critique of Obama's foreign policy credentials, even as troops begin heading home from Iraq and the U.S. role in Afghanistan is transitioning.
It also represents a subtle way to question Obama's patriotism, the seeds of which reside in the "birther" movement that questioned the legitimacy of Obama's presidency. Suspicions over Obama's citizenship eventually prompted the White House to produce the president's long-form birth certificate showing he was born in Hawaii.
Yet Democrats don't see this as a debilitating issue for the president, but more a matter of fodder in the Republican primary. Obama, they say, can draw upon it to show optimism in the country.
"Obama is powerful proof of American exceptionalism, that this country has certain set of ideals," said Democratic consultant Bob Shrum. "His election and his presidency is a testament to the character of the country."
Obama has been assertive in recent weeks about America's unique role in the world as it shifts away from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. During his nine-day Asian trip last month, the president reiterated the U.S.'s growing role in the region and stressed that "American leadership is still welcome."
___
Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas
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The jobs market is still a very disappointing aspect of the economy, says Charles Plosser, Philadelphia Fed president, but adds there are some encouraging signs. Plosser also sheds light on whether monetary policy will be an appropriate tool to stabili...
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45522811/
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BRUSSELS ? A key new agreement on disputed border crossings between Serbia and Kosovo will help quiet objections to Serbia's candidacy for European Union membership, the country's chief negotiator said Saturday.
The accord struck on Friday creates joint border crossing controls in northern Kosovo to be shared by Serb and Kosovo authorities. For months, Kosovo's minority Serbs have blocked roads and battled with authorities in the tense region to reject attempts by the Kosovo government to impose its authority.
The EU is divided on on whether to grant Serbia the status of candidate for membership, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that recent clashes at the border between Serb nationalists and NATO peacekeepers in which 50 troops were injured showed that Serbia had not yet fulfilled the proper conditions.
The latest deal could significantly ease tensions by establishing joint border control posts comprising Serb, Kosovar and EU police and customs officials.
Serb negotiator Borko Stefanovic said the agreement was the thorniest issue in talks between Kosovo and Serbia, which has refused to accept its former province's 2008 declaration of independence.
"Serbia's position has been strengthened because it demonstrated its readiness to engage in dialogue and resolve the most difficult questions before us," he said.
Government leaders are scheduled to discuss the expansion of the 27-member EU at their forthcoming summit on Thursday and Friday.
EU officials say it is not necessary for Serbia to recognize Kosovo in order to advance its application for membership in the bloc, but the EU insists that technical talks on practical issues will ease tensions between the two rival states.
While symbolically important, formal candidacy is just a step toward tough negotiations on accession, which normally last five or more years.
"After this latest accord (on border crossings) it will be much more difficult for anyone to argue that Serbia has been uncooperative on the road to the European Union," Stefanovic said.
EU mediator Robert Cooper also struck a positive note, but said the agreement must be put into practice "in a sensitive way."
"Our objective is to make peoples lives easier and not more difficult," he said.
Talks began in March and agreement has been reached on a number of practical issues such as free travel, and recognizing each others' school diplomas and land registers. They are set to continue later this month.
Outstanding issues include arranging for Kosovo to be represented in regional forums, as well as linking telecommunications networks and power grids.
___
Slobodan Lekic can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/slekich
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In this picture taken Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, Italian Premier Mario Monti talks to journalistas at Chigi Palace, Premier's office, in Rome. Monti briefed political leaders Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, on his package of austerity and economic growth measures ahead of a critical week of Italian and European decision-making to confront the continent's debt crisis. Politicians gave few details about the individual measures Monti outlined, but described them as "severe'' but necessary since Italy had put off tough economic reforms for too long. (AP Photo/Mauro Scrobogna, LaPresse) ITALY OUT
In this picture taken Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, Italian Premier Mario Monti talks to journalistas at Chigi Palace, Premier's office, in Rome. Monti briefed political leaders Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, on his package of austerity and economic growth measures ahead of a critical week of Italian and European decision-making to confront the continent's debt crisis. Politicians gave few details about the individual measures Monti outlined, but described them as "severe'' but necessary since Italy had put off tough economic reforms for too long. (AP Photo/Mauro Scrobogna, LaPresse) ITALY OUT
From left, Future and Liberty, FLI, lawmaker Benedetto Della Vedova, Union of the Center, UDC, party leader Pier Ferdinando Casini and Alliance for Italy, API, party leader Francesco Ruteli meet journalists at Chigi Palace, the Premier's office, in Rome, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. Italian Premier Mario Monti briefed political leaders Saturday on his package of austerity and economic growth measures ahead of a critical week of Italian and European decision-making to confront the continent's debt crisis. Politicians gave few details about the individual measures Monti outlined, but described them as "severe'' but necessary since Italy had put off tough economic reforms for too long. (AP Photo/Roberto Monaldo, LaPresse) ITALY OUT
People of Freedom party secretary Angelino Alfano talks to journalists at Chigi Palace, Premier's office, in Rome, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. Italian Premier Mario Monti briefed political leaders Saturday on his package of austerity and economic growth measures ahead of a critical week of Italian and European decision-making to confront the continent's debt crisis. Politicians gave few details about the individual measures Monti outlined, but described them as "severe'' but necessary since Italy had put off tough economic reforms for too long. (AP Photo/Roberto Monaldo, LaPresse) ITALY OUT
ROME (AP) ? Premier Mario Monti briefed political leaders Saturday on his package of austerity and economic growth measures ahead of a critical week of Italian and European decision-making to confront the continent's debt crisis.
Politicians gave few details about the individual measures Monti outlined, but described them as "severe" but necessary since Italy had put off tough economic reforms for too long.
"Let's be clear: Doctors rarely prescribe medicine that tastes good," said Pierferdinando Casini, head of a small but influential Christian Democrat party. "Medicine is always bitter, but sometimes it's necessary to prevent the patient from dying."
Monti is under enormous pressure to reassure markets that he can push the package of reforms through Parliament to heal Italy's broken public finances: Italy's euro1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion) in debt is 120 percent of its gross domestic product.
Unlike Greece, Portugal and Ireland, which got bailouts after their borrowing rates skyrocketed, the eurozone's third-largest economy is considered to be too big to be bailed out. An Italian default would be disastrous for the 17-member eurozone and reverberate throughout the global economy.
Monti was installed Nov. 26 after markets lost confidence that then-Premier Silvio Berlusconi ? battered by sex scandals, legal problems and defections from his party ? had the political wherewithal to push through the reforms needed to rein in the debt.
Monti hasn't disclosed details of his rescue plan, but he has said it includes both austerity cuts and measures to boost growth in Italy's anemic economy. He has promised it would be socially equitable, and that it would go after those who hadn't paid their share of taxes before.
Politicians, union and business leaders have said the package likely includes reinstating an unpopular home property tax abolished by Berlusconi, raising the sales tax and the income tax at the highest brackets by a few percentage points, and requiring Italians to work two or three years more than the 40 years now needed for eligibility to draw a pension.
The minimum retirement age of women in the private sector is expected to be raised from 60 to 62 or 63 starting next year, building on a Berlusconi government strategy.
Officials of Italy's powerful unions and some center-left parties have voiced concern over pension reforms. Berlusconi's party has opposed restoring the property tax and a rumored wealth tax.
Monti met with Angelino Alfano, secretary of Berlusconi's party, as well as Casini and other members of centrist parties Saturday. Later Saturday he meets with the center-left politicians, and on Sunday he briefs unions, business groups and consumer lobbies.
The consultations come ahead of a critical Cabinet meeting Monday during which the measures are to be approved. Monday afternoon he introduces them to Parliament, where the Senate has pledged to vote on them by Christmas.
At the same time, Monti is gearing up for the critical summit meeting this week of eurozone leaders aimed at saving the euro.
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THURSDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Despite decades of public health efforts aimed at snuffing out cigarette smoking, 20 percent of Americans still light up. New research suggests it might be because of their genes.
While anti-smoking campaigns are credited with slicing cigarette use drastically over the past 40 years -- from 42 percent of all Americans in 1965 to just under 20 percent in 2010 -- the number of people who haven't been able to nix their nicotine habit has flatlined in recent years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Two out of three adults who smoke want to quit, a CDC report out earlier this month said, and more than half (52 percent) had attempted to quit in the past year.
The authors of the new study, released online in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of Demography, say new tactics may be needed to help the remaining smokers.
"Federal and social policies may be somewhat less effective now because maybe the composition of those at risk [those who smoke] has changed," said study co-author Fred Pampel, a professor of sociology at the University of Colorado at Boulder and a research associate at the Institute of Behavioral Science there. Those who can quit easily have probably done so, the authors said.
Study lead author Jason Boardman, an associate professor of sociology, said anti-smoking messages, higher taxes and restrictions on smoking have made a difference. "But for hard-core smokers, there may be something else going on," he said. That "something else" is likely genetics, he added.
The researchers drew this conclusion after analyzing the smoking habits between 1960 and 1980 of nearly 600 pairs of twins who answered an extensive health questionnaire -- 363 were identical sets of twins and 233 were fraternal twins. Identical twins come from the same fertilized egg before it splits into two embryos and they share the same genes or DNA, while fraternal twins come from two separately fertilized egg cells and only share some genetic similarities.
In the identical twin group, 65 percent of both individuals quit within a two-year period of each other, while only 55 percent of the fraternal twins quit within that same stretch of time.
"The logic here is that the identical twins share genes, so if they act alike it probably reflects a genetic component," said Pampel.
The new research adds to a growing body of literature suggesting there is probably a substantial genetic influence when it comes to nicotine addiction, said Dr. Aditi Satti, an assistant professor of medicine and director of the smoking cessation program at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. But scientists are still trying to pinpoint the gene or genes involved, she said.
"There has not been one specific gene linked to nicotine addiction," said Satti.
She noted that while numbers of smokers have decreased over the years, smoking is up among women and black Americans, possibly another clue as to who is genetically at risk. Inner city, low socioeconomic and less-educated populations are more likely to be smokers, too, Satti added.
"I think the combo of finding better medications and educating people, even if doctors just spend five minutes talking with your patient about smoking, will lead to higher quit rates," Satti said.
Boardman said a policy shift might be in line. Instead of government anti-smoking campaigns focusing on high taxes and splashy advertisements, he said current smokers may discover more success using medication aimed at nicotine addiction, as well as counseling.
"I'd argue that nicotine replacement therapies may be far more effective with existing smokers still trying to quit than the posters showing images of smokers that are not cool. Behavior-changing efforts -- I don't think that's going to help the two-pack a day smokers," said Boardman, who is also a research associate at the Institute of Behavioral Science.
Smoking-related diseases lead to approximately 443,000 deaths a year in the United States, including babies born prematurely to women who smoke while pregnant and those harmed by secondhand smoke, according to the American Lung Association.
Satti is concerned that cigarette addiction isn't taken seriously enough by some.
"Maybe we don't see smoking as being as important as alcohol and drug addiction, but I'm a pulmonologist and I see chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema and lung cancer every day," she said. "And we know tobacco smoke is linked to cardiovascular disease and stroke. It's one of the most preventable things you can do. If you quit smoking, you'll see a huge impact on health."
More information
The American Cancer Society can help you determine if you need help to quit smoking.
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WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration offered tempered praise this week as millions of Egyptians cast ballots in an election likely to be the country's freest and fairest ever ? a vote the U.S. insisted go forward despite objections by pro-democracy street protesters.
The administration wanted timely elections even though they risked leaving the U.S. with less influence and fewer friends in the Middle East.
After two days of largely peaceful voting marked by high turnouts, U.S. spokesmen termed Egypt's first vote since Hosni Mubarak's ouster a success. They focused on the openness of the parliamentary election and not on the Islamic hardliners who may end up the big winners ? or what that might mean for U.S. policy or U.S. ally Israel.
"As much as it's important to protest in Tahrir Square, the real future ? the democratic future ? of Egypt will be decided in the ballot box," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. "The Egyptian people are now exercising their democratic right in a peaceful fashion that will lead to real democratic change in the long term for Egypt. That's a very good thing."
After a week when U.S. officials watched warily as Egypt suffered a new wave of unrest and violence, Monday and Tuesday's balloting provided the administration with renewed confidence that the country is on a path that, however treacherous, should lead to a more democratic future. Fears that protests and harsh police action would spill over into the election, or that Egypt's military rulers would interfere with voters, proved unfounded.
The result seemed to validate weeks of active diplomacy by the Obama administration to press Egypt's interim military leadership to stick to its proposed timeline for parliamentary and presidential elections. The U.S. hasn't gotten all it wanted, including a key demand of the demonstrators that Egypt's Mubarak-era emergency restrictions on civil liberties be lifted. Washington nonetheless stuck to a strategy of backing the Egyptian generals' stewardship over the transition ? despite misgivings over rough treatment of protesters ? and the smooth voting suggests the strategy paid off.
"Those two characterizations ? high turnout and no violence ? I think speak to the success" of the vote, Toner said. He complimented the military council on naming a new prime minister and accelerating to no later than June 30 its handover of power to an elected president and civilian government. "All these are the elements of a democratic transition that we think is positive."
Getting there has been difficult, and the U.S. has resorted to adding what weight it carries with the generals to the clamor of the demonstrators: It sharply stepped up its criticism of the council last week amid a crackdown by security forces that killed more than 40 people over nine days. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton declared this month that "if, over time, the most powerful political force in Egypt remains a roomful of unelected officials, they will have planted the seeds for future unrest."
While many Egyptians fear the generals will continue to dominate the government even after the handover, U.S. concern also centers on whether one of its most important Middle East allies will turn down a more Islamic path. The Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists are expected to be the biggest winners, seizing a plurality and possibly a majority of parliament when all the voting is finished next year.
President Barack Obama's top officials have made it clear that the U.S. is ready to work with whichever parties emerge victorious. But they also acknowledge that Egypt's immediate support for such American-led efforts as isolating Iran and promoting Arab-Israeli peace may not be a given.
U.S. credibility is low among some of the Islamic parties because of America's record of three decades of support for former dictator Hosni Mubarak, who erected a hated police state while collecting billions of dollars in U.S. aid.
"The democratic process is what's important. Principles matter to this president, not parties," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters. "Our standards have to do with respect for human rights, respect for the democratic process, denunciation of violence, and inclusion of and respect for minorities in the process."
Carney also said it was unfair to assume that religious-affiliated parties cannot function democratically.
"Before we judge the disposition of a government, or a parliament that's just beginning to take shape through elections that have started today," Carney said, "I think we need to let the process run its course, continue to espouse our firm support for democratic principles and for civilian control of the government, and then judge the outcome by the actions of those who prevail."
Toner said if the Muslim Brotherhood commits to the democratic process, "we'll welcome them as a part of the political process."
Analysts warned that it was still too early to judge Egypt's electoral process a success-in-waiting. Second-round parliamentary voting awaits, a new constitution must be drafted, and then a presidential election will be held.
"This is the electoral equivalent of pulling an all-nighter," said Jon Alterman, Middle East program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. But he described it as the best possible process for the United States, which lacks good options.
"The most important thing," Alterman said, "is there is a genuine process that we can influence in the longer term."
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