Spurred on by Graf, Lisicki makes Wimbledon final

LONDON (AP) ? Spurred on by Steffi Graf and inspired by an array of other sporting greats, Sabine Lisicki pulled herself out of a big hole and climbed right into the Wimbledon final.

The 23rd-seeded German, a Wimbledon semifinalist two years ago, overcame a 3-0 deficit in the third set to beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 2-6, 9-7 Thursday and advance to her first Grand Slam final.

On Saturday, she will face Marion Bartoli, a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Kirsten Flipkens in the other semifinal.

"It's another challenge, and I'm looking forward to it," said Lisicki, who beat defending champion Serena Williams in the fourth round.

The men's semifinals are set for Friday, with top-seeded Novak Djokovic playing Juan Martin del Potro and 2012 finalist Andy Murray up against the surprising 24th-seeded Jerzy Janowicz.

Saturday's final will be the second at Wimbledon in the 45-year Open era between two women who have never won a Grand Slam title. Although Bartoli has the edge in experience after reaching the 2007 final at the All England Club, Lisicki may have the bigger advantage with a 3-1 record against the Frenchwoman, including a quarterfinal win at Wimbledon in 2011 in their last meeting.

Lisicki started off Thursday playing aggressive tennis on Centre Court, and it yielded immediate results. She won 22 of her 30 points on serve and broke Radwanska once.

But soon after, Lisicki's serve deserted her, and so did her lead.

Lisicki lost all four of her service games in the second set, with the lowlight coming in the final game. Leading 30-0, Lisicki lost four straight points, including two double-faults.

"She made some really good points. I made a few errors too many," said Lisicki, the first German to reach the Wimbledon final since Graf in 1999. "But I regained my focus and game in the third set, and that's the main part."

Graf may have played a small role in the comeback. The seven-time Wimbledon champion sent Lisicki a text message before the match to wish her luck.

"She told me to go for it, and I'm just so happy," Lisicki said. "I was just fighting for every single point out there. Fought my heart out there."

Besides Graf, Lisicki also named a few others who have helped inspire her to come back from a serious left ankle injury in 2010, including ski great Hermann Maier and NFL quarterback Drew Brees.

"I read his book while I was injured," Lisicki said of Maier, an Austrian who won several Olympic and world championship medals. "Almost losing his leg and then to come back and be the world champion in his sport, I think was an unbelievable story.

"Also Drew Brees. ... He has torn everything there was in the shoulder, and he still came back and was one of the best."

Bartoli needed no such motivation, making quick work of Flipkens with her two-handed backhands and forehands mixing with little hops between points, as is her custom.

"I played great. I executed very well. I hit lobs, passing shots, winners, returns, everything worked out perfectly," said Bartoli, who won in 62 minutes. "When I fell on the grass after match point, it was just so emotional. I dreamed about that moment, about returning to the Wimbledon final."

The last time she made it this far, it didn't turn out so well. She lost to Venus Williams 6-4, 6-1.

But this time is different, or at least Bartoli believes it will be.

"God, I think I'm serving better," Bartoli said. "I mean, I do just everything a bit better than what I was doing six years ago. I think if I would play myself now, with my game six years ago compared with my game today, I would probably be beating myself quite easily because I'm just doing everything better."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spurred-graf-lisicki-makes-wimbledon-final-071516287.html

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Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly urging gun responsibility, not control (Washington Post)

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Samsung names Gregory Lee as new US Mobile Division president

Former STA president Sohn headed to Korea as executive advisor to J.K. Shin

Samsung has made some executive changes at the highest levels today, naming Gregory Lee as president of Samsung Telecommunications America (STA). Formerly president and chief executive officer of Samsung Asia Pte Ltd, Lee will be responsible for "leading the company's mobile business operations and strengthening the company's leading position in the smartphone market in the U.S."

Don't shed any tears for outgoing STA president Dale Sohn though, as he has scored a gig as the executive advisor to Samsung's mobile division CEO JK Shin. Samsung owes much of their success in mobile to the U.S. market, and having the man who took them to the top of the U.S. mobile market and achieved "record results" with the Galaxy line makes great business sense.

We wish both the gentleman much success, but more importantly we hope that this means Samsung will keep pushing the edge of technology forwards. 

Via: Engadget

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/N7y7cSC7L1I/story01.htm

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TSA's New Instagram Account Highlights The Crazy Things People Try To Sneak On Planes

Seemingly tired of being chewed out by every third traveler to step through their scanners, the TSA is trying something new to connect with the people: Instagram. Over the last few days, the TSA has been Instagramming some of the crazier things they've confiscated from people who didn't get the whole "don't bring things that can kill people on planes" memo. Guns! Grenades! Secret spy knives!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/d6YPGucBzpk/

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Threaten or be threatened? (Unqualified Offerings)

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Move over Messi, here come the robots

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (AP) ? With the score tied 1-1, it's gone to a penalty shootout in a tense soccer match between teams from Israel and Australia.

As the Australian goalkeeper in his red jersey braces for the shot, the Israeli striker pauses. Then he breaks into a dance instead of kicking the ball.

Perhaps he can be forgiven: He's a robot, after all.

Welcome to the RoboCup, where more than a thousand soccer-playing robots from forty countries have descended on the Dutch technology Mecca of Eindhoven this week with one goal in mind: beat the humans.

Eventually.

The tournament's mission is to defeat the human World Cup winners by 2050 ? creating technology along the way that will have applications far beyond the realm of sport.

To achieve the goal, organizers have created multiple competition classes ? including small robots, large robots, humanoid robots and even virtual robots ? with plans to merge their techniques into a single squad of all-star androids capable of one day winning a man vs. machine matchup.

For now, Lionel Messi doesn't need to look over his shoulder. Humanoid robots have difficulty keeping their balance, and the largest ? human height ? move more like, well, robots than world-class athletes.

"To be honest, I think a 3-year-old could win against any of the humanoid teams," says Marcell Missura of the University of Bonn, whose NimbRO team won the "teen" humanoid class in Mexico City last year.

NimbRO's 3-foot (120 centimeter) striker sports a shock of white hair and a flashy pink bandanna as it towers above a Japanese opponent in one match. That's because the Japanese player doesn't have a head, just a prong with a camera mounted on top.

The NimbRO striker shuffles over to the ball where it lies near one sideline, centers itself carefully, and then raises its head to gauge the placement of the goal. It then shifts its weight to one foot, draws back the other foot and kicks.

GOAAAAAAL!

The shot is not powerful, but it's spot on, and it leaves the opposing keeper flat-footed.

"It's starting to look like soccer," Missura says hopefully.

Missura says his robot's outfit, which also includes a pair of shorts that hang clumsily from its robotic hips, actually hinders its performance, leading to overheating. But making the bots look human is part of his task.

"If they're ugly they will not be accepted by people," he said. "Plus it is a little fun."

While the humanoid robots have a long way to go, it's a different story when robots are allowed to be robots ? that is, with wheels, joints that can pivot 360 degrees and a wide array of sensors.

The smallest robots, each about the size and shape of a birthday cake, swarm across their field, weaving around like piranhas. These bots play with a golf ball they tick into the goal so powerfully it's difficult to see it happen.

As in all the divisions, once a game starts, there's no human interference ? except for substitutions, when humans are allowed to remove a bot that has broken down, and when referees eject a player for fouling an opponent.

The mid-size robot competition ? which some fans refer to as "the R2-D2 league" ? most resembles real soccer, played on a 60 foot (18 meter) long court.

Majid Gholipour, leader of teams from Iran's Qazvin Open University, says his mid-size bots, which are shaped like buoys, have a top speed of around 14 mph (22 kph).

The bots use different kicks for passing and shooting, and they communicate their position to each other via wireless Internet connections.

The University of Eindhoven's "Tech United" is favored to repeat as mid-size winner. But the Iranians were runners-up in 2012, and Gholipour says his robots' strategy is becoming more complex.

"If they are losing, they go on the attack," he says. "If they are winning, everybody goes to defense. Like Italians."

Both the Dutch team and the Iranian team confide that they've got a secret weapon this year: "path planning," where the ball is passed toward open space as a robot scoots to intercept it.

But arguably the most enjoyable matches to watch are in the "standard platform" division, where all contestants use the same small humanoid robot, manufactured by Aldebaran Robotics. These are built with a stylish white design that includes glowing eyes that can change color to signal 'emotion.'

In this league, the challenge is purely in the software: the best computer code wins.

Many teams play looking like they're drunk. When programmers push the limits on speed, the bots tend to fall down even more often than human professionals do.

But watching the bots stand back up, rotating their knees forward and pushing up off of one hand, it's possible to envision them running and jumping someday.

Unlike with human players, there are no prima donnas among the robots. Each plays every position equally wall, and they shift roles seamlessly. Goalkeepers have been known to come out and act as strikers. And when a bot gets a shot on goal, it rarely misses.

"That's the advantage a robot has over a human," says Dickens He, on the University of Pennsylvania's 'UPennalizers' team. "There are no mistakes: a robot does what it is programmed to do."

Tournament director Rene van de Molengraft says the humanoid bots range from as little as $5,000 for the standard platform bots, when bought in bulk, to $35,000 or more for handmade adult-size models, which are taller.

Still a bargain compared to the $75 million Barcelona just paid for Brazil star Neymar.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/move-over-messi-come-robots-061942057.html

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Cancer is a result of a default cellular 'safe mode,' physicist proposes

June 30, 2013 ? With death rates from cancer have remained largely unchanged over the past 60 years, a physicist is trying to shed more light on the disease with a very different theory of its origin that traces cancer back to the dawn of multicellularity more than a billion years ago.

In this month's special issue of Physics World devoted to the "physics of cancer," Paul Davies, principal investigator at Arizona State University's Center for Convergence of Physical Sciences and Cancer Biology, explains his radical new theory.

Davies was brought in to lead the centre in 2009 having almost no experience in cancer research whatsoever. With a background in theoretical physics and cosmology, he was employed to bring fresh, unbiased eyes to the underlying principles of the disease.

He has since raised questions that are rarely asked by oncologists: thinking about why cancer exists at all and what place it holds in the grand story of life on Earth.

His new theory, drawn together with Charles Lineweaver of the Australian National University, suggests that cancer is a throwback to an ancient genetic "sub-routine" where the mechanisms that usually instruct cells when to multiply and die malfunctions, thus forcing the cells to revert back to a default option that was programmed into their ancestors long ago.

"To use a computer analogy, cancer is like Windows defaulting to 'safe mode' after suffering an insult of some sort," Davies writes.

The result of this malfunction is the start of a cascade of events that we identify as cancer -- a runaway proliferation of cells that form a tumour, which eventually becomes mobile itself, spreading to other parts of the body and invading and colonizing.

Orthodox explanations suppose that cancer results from an accumulation of random genetic mutations, with the cancer starting from scratch each time it manifests; however, Davies and Lineweaver believe it is caused by a set of genes that have been passed on from our very early ancestors and are "switched on" in the very early stages of an organism's life as cells differentiate into specialist forms.

The pair suggests that the genes that are involved in the early development of the embryo -- and that are silenced, or switched off, thereafter -- become inappropriately reactivated in the adult as a result of some sort of trigger or damage, such as chemicals, radiation or inflammation.

"Very roughly, the earlier the embryonic stage, the more basic and ancient will be the genes guiding development, and the more carefully conserved and widely distributed they will be among species," Davies writes.

Several research teams around the world are currently providing experimental evidence that shows the similarities between the expression of genes in a tumour and an embryo, adding weight to Davies and Lineweaver's theory.

Davies makes it clear that radical new thinking is needed; however, just like ageing, he states that cancer cannot generally be cured but can be mitigated, which we can only do when we better understand the disease, and its place in the "great sweep of evolutionary history."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/p6KiNvaRN-s/130630225413.htm

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