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Three U.S. chemists share Nobel prize
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Three U.S. chemists share the 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their discovery of the green fluorescent protein, the Nobel Foundation said Wednesday.
Osamu Shimomura of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., and Boston University Medical School; Martin Chalfie of Columbia University and Roger Tsien, of University of California-San Diego were recognized for their work in discovering the green fluorescent protein, or GFP, in the 1960s and developments that led to its use as a tagging tool in bioscience, the foundation in Sweden said in a news release.
Shimomura first isolated GFP from jellyfish that drift with the currents off the west coast of North America, discovering the protein glowed bright green under ultraviolet light, the foundation said.
Chalfie showed the value of GFP as a luminous genetic tag for biological phenomena.
Tsien contributed to the understanding of how GFP shows fluorescence and extended the color palette beyond green, allowing researchers to give proteins and cells different colors.
Stocks fall around the globePARIS, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Spain and Britain moved to bailout banks Wednesday as stock markets plunged in Europe and Asia.
In critical interventions, Britain said it would shore up its banking system with an $88 billion bailout Wednesday and U. S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested Tuesday the U.S. central bank would cut its federal funds rate, The New York Times reported.
With markets in decline around the globe, "rate cuts, Federal Funds cuts, are not going to be enough," Hans Genberg, the executive director for research at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, told the Times.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 fell 9.4 percent Wednesday, in its largest one-day fall since October 1987. Trading was halted in Indonesia after stocks dropped more than 10 percent in early trading.
The Shanghai composite index fell 3 percent, and in South Korea the Kospi fell 5.8 percent.
On Wednesday morning, the Micex index in Russia was down 15.5 percent, while the CAC-40 in Paris fell 8.2 percent and the DAX in Germany fell 7.5 percent.
London's FTSE 100 index was down nearly 3.96 percent Wednesday.
Obama's economic policy a plus, poll saysPRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. voters say they're more likely to vote for Democratic candidate Barack Obama because of his economic and tax plans, results of a Gallup Poll indicate.
Forty-three percent of voters polled said the Democrat's plans for the economy and taxes make them more likely to vote for him, compared with 30 percent who said the same of Republican nominee John McCain, the Gallup Poll released Wednesday indicated.
In its latest poll, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency asked registered voters whether each of eight factors -- such as candidates' policy positions and background -- made them more or less likely to vote for Obama or McCain, or made no difference.
The poll suggests that, overall, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware helps the Democratic ticket more than Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin does the Republican ticket. Thirty-seven percent of voters say the choice of Biden makes them more likely to vote for the Democratic candidate, with 19 percent saying the choice made them less likely. Voters, 41 percent to 33 percent, say Palin makes them less likely to vote for the Republicans.
Results are based on telephone interviews Friday-Sunday with 926 registered voters. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.
18 killed in Nepal plane crashKATHMANDU, Nepal, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A Nepal Yeti Airlines plane, carrying a dozen German tourists and others, crashed Wednesday near Mount Everest, killing 18 people, officials said.
The plane, which had taken off Wednesday morning from Kathmandu, was flying to the town of Lukla near the world's tallest mountain, when it hit a cliff and caught fire, CNN reported, quoting officials.
One crew member survived, a Yeti Airlines representative said.
CNN reported there were 12 German tourists, two Nepalese and others aboard the plane. The identities or nationalities of others were not immediately known. Xinhua news agency, quoting a Lukla airport official, reported there were 19 passengers and crew aboard the plane.
Lukla is about 155 miles east of Kathmandu. Most tourists fly into Lukla from where they go on trekking trips to the base camp of Everest located at about 15,700 feet of the 29,029-foot peak. October is the peak tourist season in the Himalayan republic.
Female suicide bomber kills nine in IraqBAGHDAD, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Nine people died Wednesday outside a courthouse in Baquba, Iraq, when a female suicide bomber detonate explosives, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.
Five soldiers and a police officer were among the blast victims, CNN reported.
Seventeen other people were wounded, reports indicated.
The government official said the traditionally dressed woman detonated the explosives near a security checkpoint.
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