2A - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 2A - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom B liAn theTIs tBIOGY TEAM Builingth bes Bibrck A GREEN TTJMR 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com JOSEPH LICHTERMAN RACHEL GREINETZ Editor in Chief Business Manager 734-418-4115 ext. 1252 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 lichterman@michigandaily.com rmgrein@michigandaily.com In case Biology 172 wasn't challenging enough for you freshman year, don't fret, the Michigan Synthet- ic Biology Team is here to help. The team, which has competed in the Inter- national Genetically Engineered Machines com- petitions since 2006, works to create biological systems. They use biological units called Biobricks - which are essentially DNA created to formulate new biological systems - according to LSA senior Josh Atkinson, an undergraduate member of the team. Atkinson said the group puts DNA into E. Coli cells to create proteins for vari- ous purposes. One would be hard pressed to find a Bio- brick in any recognizable technologies, but Atkinson explained that synthetic biology is an emerging field, and the iGEM competition has only existed since 2004. The team consists of about 15 University stu- dents, primarily from the College of Engineering and LSA, but Atkinson said the group is looking to expand so it can begin preparing for competitions year-round. This year the team com- peted against more than 40 other Universities in the iGEM 2012 Americas East Regional Jamboree - held in Pennsylvania between Oct. 12 and Oct. 14 - and was awarded one of numer- ous gold medals distributed at the competition. The team was also given the award for the best new Bio- brick from a natural source. Next up for the team is a trip to the World Jamboree in Boston, one of 14 invitees from the regional competi- tion to be granted a spot in the world competition. -RAYZA GOLDSMITH Newsnoom 734-418-4115 opt.3 Corrections corrections@michigandaily.com Arts Section arts@michigandaily.com Sports Section sports@michigandaily.com Display Sales display@michigandaily.com Online Sales onlineads@michigandaily.com News Tips news@michigandaily.com letterstothe Editor tothedaity@michigandaity.com Editorial Page opinion@michigandaily.com Photography Section photo@michigandaily.com Classified Sales classified@michigandaily.com finance finance@michigandaily.com I 4 Students in the School of Natural Resources and Environment designed plant natural plants outside the Dana Building on Monday. CRIME NOTES Stolen Laptop Phantom and Hard Drive package CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Monthly DPS Sharing your crime meeting research WHERE: Chemistry Building WHEN: Monday at about 2:20 p.m. WHAT: A MacBook and hard drive left in a third- floor room were stolen, University Police reported. A suspect was apprehended at 11 p.m. Wrenching loss WHERE: Lurie Biomedical Engineering Lab WHEN: Monday at about 9:45 a.m. WHAT: While a tool box was left ina locked closet, three pairs of pliers and three wrenches were stolen from it, University Police WHERE: Bursley Residence Hall WHEN: Monday at 5:15 p.m. WHAT: A student expecting a package was notified of it's arrival but it could not be located when tryingto retrieve it, University Police reported. Oil all over WHERE: M-89 Lot WHEN: Monday at about 2:20 p.m. WHAT: Automobile oil was spilled near the loading dock, University Police reported. Occupational Safety and Environental Health staff cleaned up the spill. No police report was WHAT: The Department of Public Safety invites mem- bers of the University com- munity to learn about crime statistics and trends. WHO: Campus Information Centers WHEN: Today at 11 a.m. WHERE: Michigan Union Pendleton Room WHAT: During this session participants will learn how to increase the impact of their research and teaching materials, and how to share their work as much as pos- sible. WHO: Teaching and Technology Collaborative WHEN: Today at 3 p.m. WHERE: Harlan Harcher Graduate Library THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY Unbeknownst to them, an Oregon family bought a house that had been previously used as a meth lab, ABC News reported. The family realized something was wrong when they began suffering from mouth sores and dry mouths. A dorm's average cost is $1,455 a month. Com- pare this to a one-bed- room apartment in a house, which is $965 a month. FOR MORE, SEE THE STATEMENT INSIDE Apple has introduced an iad Mini, a pencil-thin tablet that is said to be as light as a pad of paper, the Detroit Free Press reported. The new iPad has a dual-core A5 chip, FaceTime HD, and a 5MP iSight camera. The Wi-Fi only model will start at $329. 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Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily's office for $2. Subscriptions for fol termstarting in September, via U.S.mail are $110. Wintert erm anuary through Aprillis $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campussubscriptions for fall termare 535.Subscriptionsmust be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press. 0 Getting rid of Global health e-mail spam . career semi}}r WHAT: Senior Scientist at Yahoo! Labs, Arniban Dasgupta, will discuss some new algorithmic and machind learning questions motivated by email spam. WHO: School of Informa- tion WHEN: Today at 1 p.m. WHERE: North Quad Residence Hall WHAT: People with careers in global health will share the experiences that led them to their current positions in a range of sectors. WHO: The Career Center WHEN: Todayat 5p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union Anderson Room I U.N. plans for peacekeepers in Syria' Russian lawmakers redefine treason Forces will only enter the country if a ceasefire is approved UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United Nations is already planning for a peacekeeping force in Syria should a cease- fire in that country take hold and pending a Security Council mandate, the U.N. peacekeeping chief said Monday. Herve Ladsous said, however, it was still too early to say how many peacekeepers might be deployed in such an eventual force. "I would confirm that, of course, we are giving a lot of thought to what would happen if and when a political solution or at least a cease-fire would emerge," Ladsous told reporters at a U.N. briefing. U.N. and Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus on Sunday as part of his push for a cease- fire between rebels and govern- ment forces for the Eid al-Adha holiday, which begins Oct. 26. Syria's state-run news agency SANA said Damascus supports the truce proposal, but would not commit to halting fire dur- ing a four-day Muslim holiday until Western countries and their Gulf allies stop support- ing rebels and halt their weap- ons supplies to the anti-regime fighters. Brahimi told reporters, fol- lowing a closed-door meet- ing, that he also had held talks earlier with opposition groups inside and outside the country and received "promises" but not a "commitment" from them to honor the cease-fire. Brahimi replaced Kofi Annan as envoy to Syria after the for- mer U.N. secretary-general resigned last August, frustrated by a lack of progress. Under Annan's peace plan the AdisplacedSyrianboyisseeninarefugeecampnearAzaz,Syria,Tuesday,Oct.23,2012. U.N. sent a 300-strong unarmed and it is simply unacceptable," observer mission to Syria to Ladsous said. oversee the cessation of vio- Diplomats say that Ladsous lence but the team was forced has told Brahimi he could put to withdraw in August because together a force of up to 3,000 of escalating fighting which has peacekeepers in the event a lon- continued until today. ger truce took hold. "It's a shocking fact that But Ladsous said, "it certain- everyday 150 to 200 civilians are ly would be premature to men- killed and it has almost become tion a figure because it would part of the background noise depend on the situation." Bill says treason now extends to financial or consulvative acts MOSCOW (AP) - Rus- sia's lower house of parlia- ment on Tuesday quickly rubber stamped a new bill widely expanding the defini- tion of high treason. Critics alleged the legislation is part of a wider crackdown on dis- sent by President Vladimir Putin, who has already pushed through laws targeting street protests, aid organizations and opposition leaders. Current law describes high treason as espionage or other assistance to a foreign state damaging Russia's external security. The new bill expands it to include moves against Russia's "constitutional order, sovereignty and territorial and state integrity." The bill, drafted by the Fed- eral Security Service, the main KGB successor agency, also changes the interpretation of treason to include activities such as financial or consulta- tive assistance to a foreign state or an international organiza- tion. The bill, which the lower house, the State Duma, over- whelmingly approved Tues- day, is certain to quickly sail through the equally pliant upper house before Putin signs it into law. It keeps the punish- ment of up to 20 years in prison used by the current law. Rights activists have warned that the new bill is so loosely worded that it would allow the government to brand any dis- senter a traitor. "It would allow them to put any civil activist, let alone rights defender, in custody," said Lev Ponomaryov, a veteran Russian rights activist. "It will place a sword over the head of anyone who is maintaining contacts with foreigners." The socialist Just Russia party was the only Duma fac- tion that didn't vote for the bill, although it stopped short of voting against it. Just Rus- sia leader Sergei Mironov voiced concern that the bill's loose wording could allow the authorities to use it to stifle dis- sent. Russia's rights ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin, also criti- cized the bill, saying it would free investigators of the need to prove that a suspect inflict- ed any actual damage to the nation's security. Putin has clamped down on the opposition following a series of major street ral- lies against his re-election to a third term as president in March. The Russian leader has claimed that the protests were staged by Washington in order to weaken Russia, and he filled his campaign with anti-Ameri- can rhetoric. New repressive laws have been passed to deter people from joining protests, and opposition activists have been subject to searches and inter- rogations. One of the laws passed this summer obliged non- governmental organizations that receive foreign funding and engage in vaguely defined political activity to register as "foreign agents," which is intended to destroy their cred- ibility among Russians. Earlier this month, Mos- cow declared an end to the U.S. Agency for International Development's two decades of work in Russia, saying that the agency was using its money to influence elections - a claim the U.S. denied. In August, a court handed down two-year prison sen- tences to three members of the punk band Pussy Riot for performing an anti-Putin song inside Moscow's main cathe- dral. One was freed earlier this month after a court suspended her sentence, but the other two were sent from a Moscow jail to remote prison colonies this week.