'Quadruple helix' DNA discovered in human cells

Jan. 20, 2013 ? In 1953, Cambridge researchers Watson and Crick published a paper describing the interweaving 'double helix' DNA structure -- the chemical code for all life.

Now, in the year of that scientific landmark's 60th Anniversary, Cambridge researchers have published a paper proving that four-stranded 'quadruple helix' DNA structures -- known as G-quadruplexes -- also exist within the human genome. They form in regions of DNA that are rich in the building block guanine, usually abbreviated to 'G'.

The findings mark the culmination of over 10 years investigation by scientists to show these complex structures in vivo -- in living human cells -- working from the hypothetical, through computational modelling to synthetic lab experiments and finally the identification in human cancer cells using fluorescent biomarkers.

The research, published January 20 in Nature Chemistry and funded by Cancer Research UK, goes on to show clear links between concentrations of four-stranded quadruplexes and the process of DNA replication, which is pivotal to cell division and production.

By targeting quadruplexes with synthetic molecules that trap and contain these DNA structures -- preventing cells from replicating their DNA and consequently blocking cell division -- scientists believe it may be possible to halt the runaway cell proliferation at the root of cancer.

"We are seeing links between trapping the quadruplexes with molecules and the ability to stop cells dividing, which is hugely exciting," said Professor Shankar Balasubramanian from the University of Cambridge's Department of Chemistry and Cambridge Research Institute, whose group produced the research.

"The research indicates that quadruplexes are more likely to occur in genes of cells that are rapidly dividing, such as cancer cells. For us, it strongly supports a new paradigm to be investigated -- using these four-stranded structures as targets for personalised treatments in the future."

Physical studies over the last couple of decades had shown that quadruplex DNA can form in vitro -- in the 'test tube', but the structure was considered to be a curiosity rather than a feature found in nature. The researchers now know for the first time that they actually form in the DNA of human cells.

"This research further highlights the potential for exploiting these unusual DNA structures to beat cancer -- the next part of this pipeline is to figure out how to target them in tumour cells," said Dr Julie Sharp, senior science information manager at Cancer Research UK.

"It's been sixty years since its structure was solved but work like this shows us that the story of DNA continues to twist and turn."

The study published January 20 was led by Giulia Biffi, a researcher in Balasubramaninan's lab at the Cambridge Research Institute.

By building on previous research, Biffi was able to generate antibody proteins that detect and bind to areas in a human genome rich in quadruplex-structured DNA, proving their existence in living human cells.

Using fluorescence to mark the antibodies, the researchers could then identify 'hot spots' for the occurrence of four-stranded DNA -- both where in the genome and, critically, at what stage of cell division.

While quadruplex DNA is found fairly consistently throughout the genome of human cells and their division cycles, a marked increase was shown when the fluorescent staining grew more intense during the 's-phase' -- the point in a cell cycle where DNA replicates before the cell divides.

Cancers are usually driven by genes called oncogenes that have mutated to increase DNA replication -- causing cell proliferation to spiral out of control, and leading to tumour growth.

The increased DNA replication rate in oncogenes leads to an intensity in the quadruplex structures. This means that potentially damaging cellular activity can be targeted with synthetic molecules or other forms of treatments.

"We have found that by trapping the quadruplex DNA with synthetic molecules we can sequester and stabilise them, providing important insights into how we might grind cell division to a halt," said Balasubramanian.

"There is a lot we don't know yet. One thought is that these quadruplex structures might be a bit of a nuisance during DNA replication -- like knots or tangles that form.

"Did they evolve for a function? It's a philosophical question as to whether they are there by design or not -- but they exist and nature has to deal with them. Maybe by targeting them we are contributing to the disruption they cause."

The study showed that if an inhibitor is used to block DNA replication, quadruplex levels go down -- proving the idea that DNA is dynamic, with structures constantly being formed and unformed.

The researchers also previously found that an overactive gene with higher levels of Quadruplex DNA is more vulnerable to external interference.

"The data supports the idea that certain cancer genes can be usefully interfered with by small molecules designed to bind specific DNA sequences," said Balasubramanian.

"Many current cancer treatments attack DNA, but it's not clear what the rules are. We don't even know where in the genome some of them react -- it can be a scattergun approach.

"The possibility that particular cancer cells harbouring genes with these motifs can now be targeted, and appear to be more vulnerable to interference than normal cells, is a thrilling prospect.

"The 'quadruple helix' DNA structure may well be the key to new ways of selectively inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells. The confirmation of its existence in human cells is a real landmark."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Cambridge. The original story is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Giulia Biffi, David Tannahill, John McCafferty, Shankar Balasubramanian. Quantitative visualization of DNA G-quadruplex structures in human cells. Nature Chemistry, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1548

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/XvrbKZTccjU/130120150033.htm

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Records link California home and Te'o case

CARSON, Calif. (AP) ? When Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o ordered two dozen white roses delivered to 21503 Water Street, he says he thought they were headed to the home of his dead girlfriend, Lennay Kekua. In fact, the man implicated as the ringleader of a false-identity hoax and many of his relatives have lived in the single-story, stucco bungalow, according to publicly available records and interviews with neighbors.

Water Street, in a working-class community 13 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, adds another element to the Te'o-Lennay Kekua hoax: the house six doors down, at 21403 Water, belongs to a family named Kekua ? an uncommon Hawaiian name but the same one as the fictitious girlfriend at the center of the ruse.

Two members of the real Kekua family told The Associated Press they had never heard of a "Lennay Kekua."

The Kekua fabrication came to light Wednesday, when Deadspin.com revealed that the story of Te'o's girlfriend dying from leukemia last September was a fake ? because Lennay Kekua never existed.

Deadspin suggested Ronaiah Tuiasosopo was the person responsible for carrying out the hoax. Te'o said Friday he had been contacted by the 22-year-old Tuiasosopo, and that the man had admitted to masterminding the scam. Members of the Kekua family and others in the neighborhood told the AP on Saturday that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo had lived at 21503 Water St. and has visited it since moving out about a year ago.

The AP reviewed a compilation of documents about the property from a variety of sources, such as real estate and bankruptcy records.

In specifying where he had sent the roses, Te'o said Friday in an interview with ESPN that he still didn't know who lives at 21503 Water Street or of any possible connection between the address and the hoax.

But he did say he knew the residents had accepted delivery of the bouquet. "They sent me a picture of the roses, of them getting it," he said. And they also sent a photo of the flowers that Te'o's parents had delivered "as proof" that their tribute to the nonexistent girlfriend had been received.

Publicly available records indicate that Tuiasosopo used to live at 21503 Water Street. One neighbor said Saturday that Ronaiah had lived in the house for several years, until about a year ago. Another neighbor said that in her 27 years living on the block there had always been a Tuiasosopo living in 21503, including Ronaiah, his father and an uncle, Navy.

Multiple public records indicate that Navy, who played football for Utah State and the Los Angeles Rams, was a brother of former USC football player Titus Tuiasosopo, Ronaiah's father. A neighbor said Navy had lived at 21503 until his death in 2011.

A Cadillac still registered to Navy Tuiasosopo was parked in the driveway of Titus Tuiasosopo's home in Palmdale, about 90 miles north of Carson, on Saturday. Titus is the pastor of Oasis Christian Church of the Antelope Valley in Lancaster, Calif., and Ronaiah is active in the church band, and most recently has been living with his father.

In a joint interview Saturday, Barbara Kekua, 78, said she has lived at 21403 Water Street since it was built about 50 years ago. Her daughter, Kris Kekua, 45, grew up there, and moved back two years ago, across the street to 21406 Water, to be near her mother.

The two Kekua women said they do not know why their name was chosen for the scheme.

Kris recalled that when the story of Lennay Kekua's supposed death made national sports headlines last fall, friends asked if she was related. "I'm like, 'I don't know who that is,'" she said.

Kris said she had grown up with Titus and Navy on the block.

____

Associated Press reporter Tami Abdollah and researcher Lynn Dombek contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/records-california-home-teo-case-015055518--spt.html

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Te'o not alone in claiming online wishful thinking

CHICAGO (AP) ? It started out a stunner: The Heisman Trophy runner-up had told heartbreaking stories about a dead girlfriend who didn't exist. Then it became unreal: The All-American linebacker said he had been duped, and theirs was a relationship that existed only in phone calls and Internet chats.

The reaction was predictable: Unbelievable. Couldn't happen.

People speculated he must be a straight-laced Mormon, naive and unfamiliar with modern-day dating hazards. Or he must be part of an elaborate hoax designed to bolster his image. Because no big-time college football player, beloved on campus and adored by millions, could have a girlfriend he's never ... actually ... met.

Yet even people who really ought to know better say what Notre Dame's Manti Te'o says happened to him has happened to them, and they believe it happens far more often than people care to admit.

"If we shake the tree, we would find hundreds of thousands of people falling out of the tree who are experiencing something like this," said Robert Epstein, a senior research psychologist at the California-based American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology.

It's just human nature, Epstein said, something known formally by psychologists as "confirmation bias." We watch the news that matches our political beliefs. We discount viewpoints we don't like. We ignore good advice and miss red flags, so we can continue believing in something we want to be true.

In Epstein's case, it was believing he'd made a real connection with an attractive Russian woman named Ivana he met online. In fact, she was nothing more than a computer bot someone had set up to respond to queries on an online dating site.

"A lot of people still make fun of me," he said.

Today's social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, make it easy to "meet" someone without ever doing more than chatting online or exchanging emails. The same tools that allow for such casual contact also can be used by impostors to create intricate personas that exist only on the Internet.

All of it simply makes it that much easier to delude ourselves.

"After a generation of kids growing up with Facebook and decades of online life, you'd think we wouldn't be so easily duped, but I think these people who do the duping are more inventive than people who use the technology," said Steve Jones, a communications professor and online expert at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

It's been happening since people first began mingling in chat rooms more than 20 years ago. In 2006, one mom in Missouri, Lori Drew, created a MySpace page for non-existent teenage boy so she could "romance" ? and strike back at ? a girl she thought was spreading rumors about her daughter. Humiliated, the targeted girl later killed herself.

"As far back as the 1980s, men were impersonating women, kids were pretending to be adults, and all kinds of relationships with non-existent or phony people flourished online," says Paul Levinson, a professor of communication and media studies at Fordham University, who studies social media.

Now, he says, "the rise of Twitter and Facebook have only made that easier."

Those behind Te'o's imaginary girlfriend, for instance, created more than one Twitter account for her and appear to have used photos lifted from a California woman's Facebook page to make it look that much more real.

"In retrospect, I obviously should have been much more cautious," Te'o said in a statement earlier in the week. "If anything good comes of this, I hope it is that others will be far more guarded when they engage with people online than I was."

Te'o has company. As Notre Dame rose to No. 1 in the AP Top 25, sport writers nationwide recounted the story of the heroic, grieving athlete who persevered on the field after a girlfriend named Lennay Kekua was diagnosed with leukemia. Te'o and his family provided them with plenty of stories about the relationship, and no one figured out it was fiction until Deadspin.com broke that news this past week.

In his first interview since, Te'o told ESPN he had lied to his father about having met Kekua. To cover that up, he apparently lied to everyone else.

"That goes back to what I did with my dad. I knew that. I even knew that it was crazy that I was with somebody that I didn't meet," Te'o said during the off-camera interview Friday. "So I kind of tailored my stories to have people think that, yeah, he met her before she passed away."

The fact is that many people don't like to admit that they find love online, let alone that they might be misled by someone they've met that way.

For a young woman in Chicago, it started last February when a potential love interest responded to a personal ad she'd posted in the Craigslist "W4M" section. They communicated for several months online, first by email, and then instant messaging and then online voice chat.

She sent him her photo. He delayed sending his, again and again, and put off meeting in person. He wasn't ready, he told her. It bothered her, but she was so taken with the ease and intimacy of their long, daily conversations ? about their lives and their jobs, their family and friends, even sex.

After this went on for eight months, he abruptly deleted his email and Yahoo Messenger accounts, the only means she'd had to reach him. She didn't even know his last name and wouldn't know him if he passed her on the street.

"It all sounds ridiculous when you're not immersed in the situation, but when you are, it's incredibly easy to get sucked in and not want out," said the 23-year-old, a young professional who shared her story on the condition of anonymity, still hesitant to admit how truly heartbroken she was over a person she'd never met in person.

Te'o offered similar details Friday, telling ESPN he never met Kekua face-to-face and when he tried to speak with her via Skype and video phone calls, the picture was blocked. Still, he said he didn't figure out the ruse.

After he was told Kekua had died of leukemia in early September, Te'o admitted he misled the public about the nature of the "relationship" because he was uncomfortable saying it was purely an electronic romance. Skeptics remain, including some young adults accustomed to making connections on the Internet and by text message.

"Maybe I'd be more inclined to buy it if he was an everyday 'Joe Schmoe,' but with his fame, I can't imagine it happening," said Jennifer Marcus, a 26-year-old New Yorker who blogs about dating and other topics. "To me it seems like he did it for sympathy, or maybe has a few screws loose like a ton of people in this world. People go to great lengths to fit in."

For the 23-year-old Chicagoan, her experience online hasn't led her to swear off using Craigslist and the OkCupid website to find dates. She has, however, started heeding the red flags she once ignored, she says, and cuts off communication with anyone who won't meet with her in person.

"I don't want my time wasted again with someone who isn't willing to give the same amount of transparency and availability that I am," she said. "I'm planning a third date with someone who is very much the person he claimed to be."

___

Online:

Epstein's article: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=from-russia-with-love

___

Martha Irvine is an AP national writer. She can be reached at mirvine(at)ap.org or via http://twitter.com/irvineap

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/teo-not-alone-claiming-online-wishful-thinking-170533390--spt.html

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Alt-week 19.1.13: cloudy lasers, GPS drugs and proving George Lucas wrong

Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories.

It's 2013 and yet somehow we haven't ascended into a creature made of pure energy, so we'd better put some clothes on and get back to work. We've got lasers that are made from gas, a team of student physicists that are determined to prove George Lucas wrong, the world's oldest underground railway celebrating its sesquicentennial and we'll learn how the NYPD wants to track drug addicts with GPS. If that doesn't sound like the Alt-weekiest Alt-week you ever did see, then we can't be friends.

A team of physicists from the Institut Non Linéaire de Nice have discovered how to produce a laser from a cloud of gas for the first time. Normally, Lasers amplify light by bouncing it around inside a confined space like a crystal, simulating the emission of radiation. While the phenomenon has been found on other planets, reproducing the effect on Earth has been difficult, because gas is less ordered and refined than your average crystal. The team succeeded by using a cloud of rubidium in a magneto-optical trap, and the discovery should help scientists understand more about gas lasers and help them to discover new forms of artificial light.

The world's oldest underground railway had its 150th birthday earlier in the month, and Google celebrated the moment with a Harry Beck-themed doodle. London's Metropolitan railway opened up on January 9th 1863 and has been serving customers ever since. London Underground will also be recreating the journey by pulling a steam locomotive between Paddington and Farringdon -- the hottest ticket in town, give or take the odd show.

The NYPD is working with pharmacies in New York to add GPS trackers to OxyContin bottles in order to track thieves across the city. Commissioner Ray Kelly is announcing a plan that'll give pharmacists "bait" bottles to hand over the next time they're robbed, letting the police know exactly where they end up. Commissioner Kelly is also asking researchers to develop trackers small enough to fit inside an individual pill -- which sounds great for law enforcement officials, but might make the ACLU wince a little.

From Star Wars to that Windows screensaver, everyone knows what Hyperspace looks like. As your vessel makes the jump, the stars instantly become streaks of light that zoom past your eyes. Except a quartet of students from Leicester think that the reality would be closer to staring into a light bulb. Thanks to Doppler blue-shift, visible light would shorten and shift into the X-ray spectrum, while cosmic background radiation would go the other way. The result would be a central disc of bright light that emits so much pressure that it'd feel like you were trapped at the bottom of the ocean. Riley Connors, one of the students determined to disprove George Lucas said that "sunglasses would certainly be advisable," as well as some lead-lined clothes to keep out all of those X-rays.

Seen any other far-out articles that you'd like considered for Alt-week? Working on a project or research that's too cool to keep to yourself? Drop us a line at alt [at] engadget [dot] com.

Filed under: Alt

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/19/alt-week-19-1-13/

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Buzzword: Multi-generational?what does it ... - Shea Homes Blog

by Shea Homes Arizona on January 18, 2013

As life carries on for each member of your family, your single-family home will go through phases of being a playroom to an empty nest to a?semi-permanent family reunion?? While multi-family homes consist of separate families living in separate units in the same building, also known as apartments or condos, multi-generational homes consist of one family living under one roof ? in other words, a potential madhouse! However, at Shea Homes we offer plans that can accommodate the changing family needs of our customers.

Whether you have new graduates returning home from college or parents willing to avoid retirement homes at all costs, our Shea Homes Arizona?s architectural team designs homes specifically for multi-generational families.? These plans provide enough space for every family member to be comfortable while enjoying each other?s company, as well as having the ability to retreat to your own quarters.?

In your multi-generational home, you have the choice of guest suites, casitas or even a second master bedroom to ensure you have the space you need for additional family members.? For aging parents or grandparents, first-floor bedrooms, single-touch appliances, lever door handles, or other accommodating options can be built in your home for their health and mobility needs. For increased flexibility and livability, we may also offer wider hallways and no-step entries to make navigating a baby stroller or wheelchair simple at home. Everyday appliances can be provided on both floors of your home or in the neighboring casita so that clutter and chaos in the kitchen is avoided and space is available. (Option change fees may apply, will vary per floor plan, and should be discussed in advance with Community Representatives.)?

Multi-generational homes don?t look any different than typical single-family homes, but they function quite differently. ?With a vast range of needs required for multi-generational homes, the architecture and design can be tricky.? But here at Shea Homes, we can provide your ultimate home designed specifically for your baby, toddler, college grad, elders and YOU!

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Source: http://blog.sheahomes.com/living/multi-generational-what-it-means-for-you/

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Plastic surgery doesn't define person | Daily Trojan

There?s no denying it: All around the world, the culture of nip and tuck is being cultivated, grown and blown up to epic proportions. A fascinating dichotomy arises, one where a plastic surgery culture of outer beauty and covetousness exists next to issues of insecurity about our frail bodies and an itching sense of dissatisfaction with how we look.

Xingzhou Zhu | Daily Trojan

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In recent news, this infatuation with the plastic has taken Afghanistan by storm. Though most surgeries done back in the day were reconstructive ? patch-ups for war injuries, medical treatment for cleft lips ? things have taken a turn, shedding light on the fact that cosmetic surgery at large plays on the age-old ideologies of societal concepts of beauty.

In that sense, this growth of interest in plastic surgery on a global scale might not be an indicator of an increasingly image-obsessed society but a continuing symptom of a society that has always been this way.

In the spirit of being progressive, just because something has always been this way does not mean that it?s right. However, though critics of plastic surgery might poke at all the negative aspects of the industry, in the end, it?s the patients that have to live with the decision, and if happiness lies beyond that rainbow, it may just be enough.

In an article by The National, one patient, after undergoing nose enlargement surgery, said, ?In Afghanistan, being beautiful means having big eyes and the right-size nose.? For her, it is a chance to feel good about her looks.

For others, surgery might mean a reminder of a new lease on life they?ve decided to start, or an end to a life of shame and self-consciousness about that one crook in the nose or that enlarged mole. Let?s face it: The standards of beauty out there, whether it?s a well-defined face, high cheekbones or coveted ?double eyelids,? weigh on many as social pressure from all sides ? the workplace, the classroom, at home and, most dangerously, from within. Is it wrong to conform to society?s standards of beauty when it?s practical and a large part of one?s livelihood? For better job prospects? For happiness?

Plastic surgery might be something we turn toward to satiate an unending yearning for more meaning and fulfillment, as a way to resolve deep-rooted insecurities. Or perhaps it?s to give that much-needed boost of self-esteem that a prettier face lends in society.

Many find the growth of plastic surgery for cosmetic purposes alarming, and would be quick to denounce such practices, pointing to the increasing superficiality of modern culture as something needing reform. But at the same time, it?s important to identify that the issue of cosmetic surgery lies in shades of gray.

Where does the line between emphasizing beauty with clothes and heavy makeup and cosmetic surgery exist? Who has the right to judge who is morally justified to go under the knife? To what degree does getting a double-eyelid surgery for self-esteem constitute a fair choice versus a dangerous, unnecessary obsession with body image?

No matter what, a human being?s worth cannot be reduced to appearances. And if that?s the case, it?s equally unfair to condemn plastic surgery as it is to encourage it. After all, even if it is the outside that changes, it is always the inside that counts most.

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Valerie Yu is a freshman majoring in biological sciences and English. Her column ?Heart of the Matter? runs Fridays.

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Source: http://dailytrojan.com/2013/01/17/plastic-surgery-doesnt-define-person/

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Confusion over military raid to end hostage crisis

The Irish Times - Friday, January 18, 2013

RUADH?N Mac CORMAIC in Paris

Even as Algeria announced the end of its military operation to regain control of its desert gas refinery last night, there were conflicting reports as to what took place earlier in the country?s remote southern desert to end the hostage crisis.

French president Fran?ois Hollande, after speaking to his counterparts in Algiers, Washington, London and other capitals yesterday, said events had taken a ?dramatic turn? ? a reference to an apparent assault carried out by the Algerian military in the afternoon.

Twenty-five foreign hostages escaped and six were killed, Algerian media reported, but other sources put the death toll at up to 34.

Hostages ?still held??

Mauritania?s ANI news agency, which claimed to be in contact with the kidnappers, earlier said seven hostages were still being held after the Algerian operation: two Americans, three Belgians, one Japanese and one Briton.

Algerian soldiers had surrounded the installation since Wednesday morning, when Islamist militants seized 41 western workers and at least 150 Algerians at the site near In Amenas, about 100 km from the border with Libya.

The alert was raised just after 5am, when a bus carrying workers to a local airport was attacked about 3km from the plant. The bus?s police escort repelled the militants, who were said to be heavily armed, but at least two people ? a British citizen and an Algerian ? were killed in the firefight.

According to the Algerian government, the bus then travelled on to In Amenas, where the injured were treated at an on-site hospital.

Travelling in at least three vehicles, the militants then drove on to the plant, where they took hostages inside a wing of the living quarters. Several shots were heard when the militants entered the site, an unnamed hostage told France?s Le Figaro newspaper by telephone. According to this witness, the militants were armed with rocket-propelled grenades and told the hostages they had mined the area.

When the alarm was raised, Algerian troops backed by helicopters encircled the site, and the government ruled out negotiations with the kidnappers.

As news of the crisis made its way across the world, a number of states, including Ireland, Norway, Japan, the United States and the UK, said their citizens were among the hostages. A French catering firm said 150 of its Algerian staff were also caught up in the incident.

Governments set up crisis centres to co-ordinate their response, but Algeria took charge of the operation and, in a fast-evolving situation playing out in one of the most remote parts of Algeria, much of the information that filtered out was contradictory or unreliable.

Veteran guerrilla?

Algerian interior minister Daho Ould Kablia said the kidnappers were led by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a veteran Islamist guerrilla who fought Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s and had set up his own group in the Sahara after falling out with other local al-Qaeda-linked leaders.

Before the Algerian military began its attack, the hostage-takers appear to have allowed some prisoners to speak to the media. An unidentified hostage who spoke to France 24 television said prisoners were forced to wear explosive belts and captors had threatened to blow up the plant.

It was not clear if these interviewees were speaking under duress, however.

One eyewitness, a local man who was among those who escaped during the assault, said the kidnappers told Algerian staff they would not harm Muslims but would kill western hostages they called ?Christians and infidels?.

The escapee, Abdelkader (53), was quoted by the news agency Reuters as saying the militants appeared to have good knowledge of the layout of the complex and the language of radical Islam.

?I am still choked, and stressed,? he said, adding that he feared many of his foreign colleagues may have died. ?The terrorists seemed to know the base very well,? he said, ?Moving around, showing that they knew where they were going.?

Tactics criticised?

Within hours of the Algerian assault, and with the results still unclear, criticism was already emerging last night of the tactics used by the authorities.

British prime minister David Cameron?s spokesman said he was only informed of the operation once it had got under way and that Britain ?would have preferred to have been consulted in advance.?

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe called his opposite number in Algeria to request a halt to the operation.

In the first official comments from the Algerian side, a government spokesman confirmed some hostages were killed in the operation but said troops had been forced to act to free them after talks with their captors failed.

Source: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2013/0118/1224329000903.html

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