'Super' enzyme protects against dangers of oxygen

Public release date: 29-Jan-2013
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Contact: Tim Parsons
tmparson@jhsph.edu
410-955-7619
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Just like a comic book super hero, you could say that the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD1) has a secret identity. Since its discovery in 1969, scientists believed SOD1's only role was to protect living cells against damage from free radicals. Now, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have discovered that SOD1 protects cells by regulating cell energy and metabolism. The results of their research were published January 17, 2013, in the journal Cell.

Transforming oxygen to energy for growth is key to life for all living cells, which happens either through respiration or fermentation. When oxygen is plentiful, respiration normally takes over; however certain cells fail to respire in spite of abundant oxygen and instead ferment, leading to uncontrolled cell growtha hallmark of cancer.

Using the baker's yeast S. cerevisiae as well as a human cell line, researchers Valeria C. Culotta, PhD, and colleague Amit Reddi from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology determined that SOD1 transmits signals from oxygen and glucose to repress respiration. This signaling is accomplished through SOD1 protection of another enzyme known as casein kinase 1-gamma (CK1?), which is an important key to the switch between respiration and fermentation.

"SOD enzymes are present in virtually all living cells, from the most ancient bacteria to every cell in the human body," explained Culotta. "I've been telling my students to think of SOD1 as a superhero. It not only defends cells from damaging free radicals, but also has a secret life as a guardian of cell energy and metabolism."

"Our findings provide new clues as to how rapidly dividing cellsfrom yeast to human cancersmay escape the urge to respire and instead choose fermentation to promote rapid growth," said Culotta.

"SOD1 has long been recognized as an important enzyme in protection from oxidative stress, but this work establishes an important new function for the enzyme in cellular metabolism," said Vernon Anderson, PhD, of the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which partly funded the study. "The results provide important insight into how SOD1 and oxygen radicals push cellular energy metabolism towards fermentation, a feature of some disease states, including cancer."

###

"SOD1 Integrates Signals from Oxygen and Glucose to Repress Respiration" was written by Amit R. Reddi and Valeria C. Culotta.

The research was supported by the JHU National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences Center and from the National Institutes of Health grants GM050016 and GM093550.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 29-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Tim Parsons
tmparson@jhsph.edu
410-955-7619
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Just like a comic book super hero, you could say that the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD1) has a secret identity. Since its discovery in 1969, scientists believed SOD1's only role was to protect living cells against damage from free radicals. Now, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have discovered that SOD1 protects cells by regulating cell energy and metabolism. The results of their research were published January 17, 2013, in the journal Cell.

Transforming oxygen to energy for growth is key to life for all living cells, which happens either through respiration or fermentation. When oxygen is plentiful, respiration normally takes over; however certain cells fail to respire in spite of abundant oxygen and instead ferment, leading to uncontrolled cell growtha hallmark of cancer.

Using the baker's yeast S. cerevisiae as well as a human cell line, researchers Valeria C. Culotta, PhD, and colleague Amit Reddi from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology determined that SOD1 transmits signals from oxygen and glucose to repress respiration. This signaling is accomplished through SOD1 protection of another enzyme known as casein kinase 1-gamma (CK1?), which is an important key to the switch between respiration and fermentation.

"SOD enzymes are present in virtually all living cells, from the most ancient bacteria to every cell in the human body," explained Culotta. "I've been telling my students to think of SOD1 as a superhero. It not only defends cells from damaging free radicals, but also has a secret life as a guardian of cell energy and metabolism."

"Our findings provide new clues as to how rapidly dividing cellsfrom yeast to human cancersmay escape the urge to respire and instead choose fermentation to promote rapid growth," said Culotta.

"SOD1 has long been recognized as an important enzyme in protection from oxidative stress, but this work establishes an important new function for the enzyme in cellular metabolism," said Vernon Anderson, PhD, of the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which partly funded the study. "The results provide important insight into how SOD1 and oxygen radicals push cellular energy metabolism towards fermentation, a feature of some disease states, including cancer."

###

"SOD1 Integrates Signals from Oxygen and Glucose to Repress Respiration" was written by Amit R. Reddi and Valeria C. Culotta.

The research was supported by the JHU National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences Center and from the National Institutes of Health grants GM050016 and GM093550.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/jhub-ep012913.php

sherri shepherd

Exclusive: Israeli finance chief expects cuts to defense spending

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, fresh from a record-setting sale of Israeli bonds to investors in Florida, said on Monday that balancing the government budget will require "moderate but still significant" cuts to the defense sector.

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Steinitz, a leading member of the weakened Likud party of hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also said there are no plans to further raise taxes in order to hit a deficit target of 3 percent of economic output.

Parliamentary elections last week returned Likud to the top spot in the 120-member assembly, albeit with 11 fewer seats.

One area "that we will have to make some moderate but still significant cuts is the defense budget, I assume. It is not easy but we did it in the past," Steinitz said during a stopover in New York before flying home.

Israel spends roughly 20 percent of its budget on defense. It has to find a way to close a 14-billion-shekel deficit.

Steinitz stuck with the 3.5 percent gross domestic product growth target this year, rising from 3.3 percent in 2012. He added that it would not be a surprise if economic growth touches 4 percent in 2014.

The debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to decline to somewhere in the 73-percent range, down from 74.1 percent in 2011, he said.

One main reason for expecting an economic rebound is the return of cheaper natural gas to power Israel's industry as the Tamar natural gas field off the Mediterranean coast comes online in April. Egypt stopped supplying cheap gas in early 2012.

Steinitz took the positive economic message to Boca Raton, Florida, on Sunday where he spoke at a fundraising dinner for Israel Bonds. The event pulled in a single-evening record $230 million in sales to retail investors and Israel supporters, he said.

Separately, Israel's government sold $2 billion worth of 10-year and 30-year U.S. dollar-denominated debt on Monday, albeit at moderate discounts.

ELECTION COALITION CALCULUS

Steinitz, a former philosophy professor, was upbeat about attracting potential coalition partners and said he expects to play a role in the next government.

"It is quite probable that I will maintain the current position. But it is also possible that I will have another capacity," he said.

Netanyahu's alliance with ultra-nationalists led by former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman won 31 seats in the elections.

However Yair Lapid, a former talk show host who is left-of-center, led the Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party to second place with 19 seats.

Lapid's appeal reflects frustration among secular middle-class taxpayers resentful of shouldering what they see as the burden of welfare-dependent ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, Jews exempt from military conscription.

Asked if helping trim the budget deficit will include cuts to Haredi welfare, Steinitz said: "We will consider this as well but as I said, I don't want to get into details."

He added that the Haredi recognize they can no longer avoid sharing in the defense and security burden that is a right-of-passage for every other Israeli who serve in the military before heading off to higher education.

Steinitz, who has been finance minister since April 2009, said Lapid and Naftali Bennett, leader of the far-right Jewish Home Party, have similar views on the economy.

These parties, Steinitz said, hold rational positions on how to deal with the economy and promote economic growth. "They understand you have to bake the cake before you can eat it," he said.

It is not clear if these parties would become members of a coalition government as Netanyahu, an obvious choice for prime minister, has not yet been asked to form a government by Israeli President Shimon Peres.

"It is difficult to say," Steinitz said of the Lapid and Bennett parties' participation. "It depends on their ability to compromise."

A new government is possible by late February or early March.

As for any Haredi participation, whose long-standing role as kingmakers in coalition negotiations has been downgraded, Steinitz said he did not know if they would participate.

"It depends mainly on their ability to compromise on things that are very dear to them. I assume that if they are ready to compromise they will be in. If not they will stay out."

(Reporting by Daniel Bases; Editing by Xavier Briand)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-israeli-finance-chief-expects-cuts-defense-spending-003627181--business.html

albatross

Secret Group in House Finalizing Plan for Immigration Reform

As a group of senators unveil their bipartisan proposal for immigration reform today and President Obama heads west this week to rally support for his own ideas, a separate bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives is on the verge of finalizing its own designs for comprehensive immigration reform.

The discussions, which top aides close to the talks discussed on the condition that they not be identified, are described as "Washington's best-kept secret."

Last week, House Speaker John Boehner spilled the beans on the secret group, revealing that the lawmakers had been "meeting for three or four years now" and that they are almost ready to present their proposals publicly.

"They basically have an agreement. I've not seen the agreement. I don't know all the pitfalls, but it's, in my view, the right group of members," Boehner, R-Ohio, told the Ripon Society last week during remarks that were closed to the press, as first reported by The Hill. "My theory was that if these folks could work this out, it'd be a big step in the right direction."

Multiple sources say those involved in the talks include Democratic Reps. Xavier Becerra (California), Luis Gutierrez (Illinois), Zoe Lofgren (California), and Republican Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (Florida), Sam Johnson (Texas) and John Carter (Texas). Spokespersons for each congressional office refused to confirm or deny their representative's participation in the talks on the record. Additional members have also participated, according to sources intimately involved in the talks.

The House's not-yet-finalized proposal is expected to address five general areas of immigration reform, according to aides close to the negotiations. Secure the border, implement a permanent E-verify system nationwide, reform the visa system, address the predicament of how to handle immigrants already in the country illegally in a "fair" and "legal manner" while determining how to handle those who have applied for legal immigration and are currently waiting in line, and reform the immigration system for future applicants.

"We don't want to create an advantage for people who came into the country illegally or overstayed visas while millions of others wait in line," one insider said. "We have to reform the legal immigration system so you have a system that people will go through rather than go around."

Sources said that the talks are so far along, there are draft proposals written into legislation language awaiting final approval before the plan is introduced in the House. One source hinted that the group's proposal could be unveiled in the days surrounding the president's State of the Union address, which is scheduled Feb. 12.

Although he would not confirm his personal participation in the talks, Diaz-Balart, the president of the Congressional Hispanic Conference, admitted that both political parties have used immigration as a campaign tool instead of working earnestly to address the problem. He said he wondered whether there are enough members willing to work across party lines "to solve an issue everybody knows is broken."

"The American people realize that the immigration system is broken, absolutely broken, from A to Z. The question is are we going to continue, knowing that it's broken, to ignore it or are we going to try to solve it? What you're seeing now is a true effort to fix what's broken," Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said during a phone call Monday. "What I saw today in the Senate is encouraging, and in the House, pretty soon we'll be able to show a lot of work has been done."

The mysterious discussions have taken on an increased level of urgency now that President Obama has been sworn in for a second term in office. Last week, the president also met with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, including Becerra and Gutierrez, at the White House. During that meeting the president identified immigration reform as his top legislative priority. One source said if Congress fails to enact a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's immigration laws by the end of the year, it won't happen until after 2016 when there is a new president.

Lawmakers are considering "deferred adjudication," which would hold anyone accountable who entered the country illegally without kicking them out of the country. While the details are still being worked out, sources explained one proposal under consideration would require anyone who entered the country illegally to plead guilty before a federal court, pay a penalty and serve a probation-type sentence.

"We don't want anyone skipping line," another congressional aide close to the talks said. "If they broke the law, they have to pay a price."

The amount of the fine is among the final 'unclosed issues' as discussions near completion, aides say. Lawmakers are also attempting to settle how quickly to implement the e-verify system. While some lawmakers prefer to enforce the check within one year, others want to delay implementation for two years.

Democrat participants joined the group with the blessing of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and regularly updated her on the informal talks, according to a senior Democratic leadership aide. President Obama has also been aware of the secret discussions the past four years, one source added.

The effort has been ongoing for years with as many as 20 lawmakers involved in talks, but half of the members of the original working group left the House of Representatives after the last election, according to multiple sources. The group met at least once a week every week that the House was in session over the past two years. Sometimes members met up to three times per week, and never for less than an hour, making the success of keeping the meetings secret even more remarkable.

For a party that is anxiously trying to reshape its public perception after being defeated up and down the ballot last November, many top Republicans now appear ready to embrace politically gutsy changes to the law.

Ahead of the immigration blitz this week, former Republican vice president nominee Rep. Paul Ryan, who is not part of the working group, called immigration "a good thing."

"We're here because of immigration. That's what America is. It's a melting pot. We think this is good. We need to make sure it works," Ryan, R-Wis., said on "Meet the Press" Sunday. "There are Republicans and Democrats, many of us are talking to each other, that can come together with a good solution to make sure that this problem is fixed once and for all."

Still, there are some conservatives who warn that the Senate's proposal would amount to amnesty and encourage further illegal immigration.

"When you legalize those who are in the country illegally, it costs taxpayers millions of dollars, costs American workers thousands of jobs and encourages more illegal immigration," Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, wrote in a statement today. "By granting amnesty, the Senate proposal actually compounds the problem by encouraging more illegal immigration."

One of the House's most ardent advocates for strengthening border security, Rep. Steve King, said he has not been asked for any input and doubted its chances to produce an effective plan.

"If you want a particular result, appoint the people that will produce the result that you want," King, R-Iowa, said about the secret discussions during a phone call Monday. "I don't know when eight senators were smarter than 100, or a dozen members of the House were smarter than 435 members. Secret meetings reinforce the people inside the door and isolate folks outside of the door."

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/secret-group-house-finalizing-plan-immigration-reform-221743689--abc-news-politics.html

rupaul drag race

Liquor Commission helps raise $11,500 to support troops with ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Moore Mart supplies deployed military personnel with care packages containing food, hygiene products and entertainment items. In November and December, Southern Wine & Spirits and Diageo contributed 25 cents for ...

Source: http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/statenewengland/991814-469/liquor-commission-helps-raise-11500-to-support.html

google project glass google goggles

New technique sheds light on RNA

Public release date: 28-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Nicole Fawcett
nfawcett@umich.edu
734-764-2220
University of Michigan Health System

U-M researchers develop method that could enhance gene sequencing data

ANN ARBOR, Mich. When researchers sequence the RNA of cancer cells, they can compare it to normal cells and see where there is more RNA. That can help lead them to the gene or protein that might be triggering the cancer.

But other than spotting a few known instigators, what does it mean? Is there more RNA because it's synthesizing too quickly or because it's not degrading fast enough? What part of the biological equilibrium is off?

After more than a decade of work, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a technique to help answer those questions.

The method involves a compound called bromouridine, which can be used to tag or label newly created RNA. Researchers apply the bromouridine for 30 minutes then isolate the RNA to see where the new RNA was made. They call this process Bru-Seq.

On the other hand, the researchers can follow up the bromouridine labeling with a rinse with the chemical uridine for different periods of time. They call this BruChase-Seq because the uridine chases away the newly made RNA so they can look at how the RNA ages over the course of one hour, two hours or six hours. In other words, is the RNA degrading like it's supposed to?

"We can see the whole pattern of all the RNA that's synthesized and all the RNA that's stable vs. degrading. We can sort it out in terms of synthesis and stability and see if a particular RNA is more stable in the cancer cell than the normal cell or if it is taking longer to degrade in the cancer cell than in the normal cell," says study author Mats Ljungman, Ph.D., associate professor of radiation oncology at the U-M Medical School.

"With our technique, we're adding 10-fold more depth to the picture of how genes are expressed," he adds.

Ljungman is part of the Cancer Center's new Translational Oncology Program, which brings together cancer researchers from across the University of Michigan to speed the translation of basic science into clinical trials and new treatment opportunities for patients.

The Cancer Center is currently using gene sequencing techniques to help match advanced cancer patients with potential clinical trial opportunities based on the make-up of their tumor.

In addition to helping with cancer sequencing, Ljungman sees potential for this new technique to help with identifying diseases such as diabetes or inflammation. In the paper describing the technique, published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers describe how they used it to understand an inflammatory response in cells. The researchers have also used the technique to test blood samples.

With a great deal more investigation, Ljungman envisions that one day the test could potentially be offered to people visiting their doctor as a way to monitor changes in the RNA.

"If something is significantly changed from one test to the next, it could be a red flag or an early warning sign of disease. That would be the broadest use of this technology," Ljungman says.

###

Additional U-M authors: Michelle T. Paulsen, Artur Veloso, Jayendra Prasad, Karan Bedi, Emily A. Ljungman, Ya-Chun Tsan, Ching-Wei Chang, Brendan Tarrier, Joseph G. Washburn, Robert Lyons, Daniel R. Robinson, Chandan Kuman-Sinha, Thomas E. Wilson

Funding: U-M Bioinformatics Program, U-M Bioinformatics Council, Will and Jeanne Caldwell Endowed Research Fund of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, U-M School of Public Health, U.S. Department of Defense, Uniting Against Lung Cancer, U-M Nathan Shock Center, U-M Office of the Vice President of Research, National Cancer Institute grant 5R21CA150100, National Institute of Environmental Sciences grant 1R21ES020946, National Human Genome Research Institute grant 1R01HG006786

Disclosure: None

Reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1219192110

Resources:

U-M Cancer AnswerLine, 800-865-1125
U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, www.mcancer.org
Clinical trials at U-M, www.UMClinicalStudies.org/cancer

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 28-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Nicole Fawcett
nfawcett@umich.edu
734-764-2220
University of Michigan Health System

U-M researchers develop method that could enhance gene sequencing data

ANN ARBOR, Mich. When researchers sequence the RNA of cancer cells, they can compare it to normal cells and see where there is more RNA. That can help lead them to the gene or protein that might be triggering the cancer.

But other than spotting a few known instigators, what does it mean? Is there more RNA because it's synthesizing too quickly or because it's not degrading fast enough? What part of the biological equilibrium is off?

After more than a decade of work, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a technique to help answer those questions.

The method involves a compound called bromouridine, which can be used to tag or label newly created RNA. Researchers apply the bromouridine for 30 minutes then isolate the RNA to see where the new RNA was made. They call this process Bru-Seq.

On the other hand, the researchers can follow up the bromouridine labeling with a rinse with the chemical uridine for different periods of time. They call this BruChase-Seq because the uridine chases away the newly made RNA so they can look at how the RNA ages over the course of one hour, two hours or six hours. In other words, is the RNA degrading like it's supposed to?

"We can see the whole pattern of all the RNA that's synthesized and all the RNA that's stable vs. degrading. We can sort it out in terms of synthesis and stability and see if a particular RNA is more stable in the cancer cell than the normal cell or if it is taking longer to degrade in the cancer cell than in the normal cell," says study author Mats Ljungman, Ph.D., associate professor of radiation oncology at the U-M Medical School.

"With our technique, we're adding 10-fold more depth to the picture of how genes are expressed," he adds.

Ljungman is part of the Cancer Center's new Translational Oncology Program, which brings together cancer researchers from across the University of Michigan to speed the translation of basic science into clinical trials and new treatment opportunities for patients.

The Cancer Center is currently using gene sequencing techniques to help match advanced cancer patients with potential clinical trial opportunities based on the make-up of their tumor.

In addition to helping with cancer sequencing, Ljungman sees potential for this new technique to help with identifying diseases such as diabetes or inflammation. In the paper describing the technique, published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers describe how they used it to understand an inflammatory response in cells. The researchers have also used the technique to test blood samples.

With a great deal more investigation, Ljungman envisions that one day the test could potentially be offered to people visiting their doctor as a way to monitor changes in the RNA.

"If something is significantly changed from one test to the next, it could be a red flag or an early warning sign of disease. That would be the broadest use of this technology," Ljungman says.

###

Additional U-M authors: Michelle T. Paulsen, Artur Veloso, Jayendra Prasad, Karan Bedi, Emily A. Ljungman, Ya-Chun Tsan, Ching-Wei Chang, Brendan Tarrier, Joseph G. Washburn, Robert Lyons, Daniel R. Robinson, Chandan Kuman-Sinha, Thomas E. Wilson

Funding: U-M Bioinformatics Program, U-M Bioinformatics Council, Will and Jeanne Caldwell Endowed Research Fund of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, U-M School of Public Health, U.S. Department of Defense, Uniting Against Lung Cancer, U-M Nathan Shock Center, U-M Office of the Vice President of Research, National Cancer Institute grant 5R21CA150100, National Institute of Environmental Sciences grant 1R21ES020946, National Human Genome Research Institute grant 1R01HG006786

Disclosure: None

Reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1219192110

Resources:

U-M Cancer AnswerLine, 800-865-1125
U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, www.mcancer.org
Clinical trials at U-M, www.UMClinicalStudies.org/cancer

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/uomh-nts012813.php

cleveland browns

China 'could end 12-year game console ban' | GamesRadar

Chinese authorities are said to be reviewing a 12-year ban on game consoles in the country.

Seven Chinese ministries collectively banned the manufacture, sale and import of game consoles in 2000 due to fears over their potentially harmful impact on youth development, but an unnamed government source reportedly told China Daily that the law could be changed.

"We are reviewing the policy and have conducted some surveys and held discussions with other ministries on the possibility of opening up the game console market," they said. "However, since the ban was issued by seven ministries more than a decade ago, we will need approval from all parties to lift it.?

It has been speculated that, having already sensed a softening of the government's attitude towards game consoles, some of the markets key players are readying themselves for a rapid response to any policy change. Last June Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) set up a training, research and development arm in South China, and in November PS3 received a quality certification from a Chinese safety standards body. While the PlayStation firm wouldn?t comment directly on today?s report, SCE spokeswoman Yoshiko Uchiyama told Sky: "Our stance towards business in China has not changed. Of course, we acknowledge China as a promising market for our business, and we are always considering and preparing business opportunities and possibilities (in the country)."

Microsoft introduced Kinect to the Chinese mainland in October, although the product is only currently being used for non-gaming purposes such as medical treatment and education. However, Zhang Yaqin, chairman of the Microsoft Asia-Pacific Research and Development Group, has said the company hopes to launch Xbox in China ?as soon as possible".

Shares in Sony and Nintendo climbed following the publication of the China Daily report. According to Bloomberg, the PlayStation firm?s shares jumped 9.1 per cent in Tokyo trading to 1,407 yen, the highest since April 2012, while the Wii U maker?s rose 3.4 per cent to 9,630 yen in Osaka, the highest since December 7.

Source: http://www.gamesradar.com/china-could-end-12-year-game-console-ban/

Adrienne Maloof

15 Ridiculous SkyMall Food and Drink Gadgets | FirstWeFeast.com

Few aspects of flying are more dependable than the joy we get from paging through a?SkyMall catalog to check out the latest lineup of ultra-specific products we never knew we wanted so badly.

While some of the items on offer are backed by a good concept?the Magic Coaster aims to eliminate the middle man of a decanter by ?instantly aging and refining red wine??most are straight-out unnecessary. (Unless you really have a problem with unraveling paper towel rolls, in which case you?re welcome.)

Click through the gallery to check out 15 of the least crucial cooking, drinking, and dining gadgets on SkyMall right now.

Source: http://firstwefeast.com/laugh/15-ridiculous-skymall-food-and-drink-gadgets/

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