Kim Kardashian's Butt Leaves Dancing With the Stars

Tuesday 30 June 2009

Now a Bootylicious Kardashian retrospective.

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Kim Kardashian and her derriere got booted off Dancing with the Stars last night, proving that Kardashian really isn’t very talented at anything. She was the third celebrity voted off this season, which is sad because the only reason to watch this show was to see Kardashian shake her money maker.

The highlight of this season was Kardashian’s dance to Sir Mix-A-Lot’s I Like Big Butts. It was daring. It was self-deprecating. It was kind of crappy. Oh well. She’ll always have her fat ass and we’ll never get tired of looking at it.

Transsexuals Beauty Contest (Rare Images)


Some of the 25 contestants of the Amazing Philippines beauty pageant pose backstage before the presentation to the media in Manila on October 7, 2008. The pageant aims to give opportunities for transsexuals and cross-dressers to display their beauty and talent. The coronation night is on October 24, with five winners joining the the Amazing Philippines Theatre (APT), a theatrical show that has showcased the best of Filipino gay talent for the last seven years. AFP PHOTO/Jay DIRECTO








Did Somebody Say “Supermodel”?


Yahoo! Buzz

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On the Set of Nailin' Paylin


The Sarah Palin-inspired porno being made by Hustler has to be one of the most heavily anticipated porn film ever made. The film titled Who’s Nailin’ Paylin [sic] is being treated like a Hollywood blockbuster with on-set photos leaked before its release.

The film stars 2006’s MILF of the Year Nominee Lisa Anna as Sarah Palin. In the script leaked to TMZ, the big-bosomed porn star helps out some Russians who get a flat tire and, in the spirit of foreign relations, decides to let them in. Like any good porno, the script is full of innuendos and double entendres. The highlight is a threesome with a Hillary Clinton and a Condoleezza Rice look-a-like.

From the look of the script, the film seems to be heavy on the words and light on the action, which kind of reminds me of a certain politician.

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SRK loses to SRK


In times of recession, Eros International is hedging its bets on a money making director — Farah Khan, rather than bank on Anubhav Sinha.
http://mynews.in/images/c7750178-43a9-4fb9-9349-e1394cea27a2srk--400x325--3.jpgFarah’s successful track record has put the brakes on Anubhav’s Ra 1 temporarily. She will begin shooting her film Happy New Year ahead of schedule, while Ra 1 has been pushed from September to next year.

A few days ago, we told you how Farah Khan had to rush with the script of the first half of Happy New Year to San Francisco where Shah Rukh is shooting currently. It was a known fact that Farah was supposed to start her film only early next year. We hear, Eros International insisted that Farah’s film should start this year, by the end of November.

Ra 1 is being presented by Eros International and produced by Red Chillies. It was slated to go on the floors before Farah’s film, “That’s true,” says the source, “But when Eros studied the project Ra 1, they felt that this film may not derive sufficient returns in today’s economy. They felt that it would be better if the commercial director Farah Khan put her project on the floors first. They wanted to back that first and wait for things to improve on the economy front. They will go with Ra 1 but only at a later date.”

Mumbai Mirror had also reported on June 27 that Shah Rukh has been advised not to indulge in heavy-duty action. This, combined with Farah’s track record, has come in the way of Anubhav Sinha’s film.

Despite repeated calls and text messages, Eros International CEO Sunil Lulla remained unavailable for comment.

Happy New Year stars Shah Rukh Khan in the lead. The remaining cast is yet to be finalised. Farah also has to complete the script of the second half of the film.

Freida, Dev Patel fuel dating


Slumdog Millionaire stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto fuelled romance rumors when they were spotted going out for dinner.
Freida Pinto Pictures: Freida Pinto Acting Sexy. Acting.Dev is filming The Last Airbender in Philadelphia while Freida is being chased by casting agencies for modelling and film work.

However, the stars finally got time to eat out in Philly, reports The Sun .

Rumours of a relationship began shortly before Millionaire swept the board at the Oscars in February.

Freida and Patel denied they were an item, but their cover was blown by co-star Anil Kapoor. "When I meet them, I feel there is something happening," he said, adding that the couple shared "a magical chemistry".

Pinto's ex, Rohan Antao, also blamed Patel for their relationship breakdown.

"I don't know if they were having a sexual relationship but if I came face to face with him I would have things to say. Now everywhere I go I see them on billboards. I am devastated," he said.

It’s an awesome kind of pain: Priyanka


Priyanka Chopra is in a hush-hush mood.
http://mastiwave.com/wp-content/uploads/priyanka-chopra-boyfriend1.jpgAfter all she has become Controversy’s Child, and all and sundry want to ask her about the questions worth a million bucks – Are she and Shahid Kapur dating? What’s the relationship between Gerard Butler and her? Was Shahid miffed with her closeness with Gerard?

Did she dump Harman Baweja just because he hasn’t proved to be ‘successful’... and Piggy Chops just doesn’t have the belly to handle all of that. So she simply urges us to go a little easy and stick to questions pertaining to films alone!

Currently shooting for ‘What’s Your Rashee’, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker – the same filmmaker who told Priyanka that Aishwarya Rai was more deserving of the Best Actress Award for ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ than she was for ‘Fashion’ – Priyanka Chopra treats the comment as a by-gone and again shrugs and chooses to not say much. But that doesn’t mean that the girl delivers less for ‘What’s Your Rashee?” She instead is learning contemporary jazz, and describes it as ‘painful’.

She even danced for 22 hours – a special song which required her to be in 12 different get-ups. “But contemporary jazz,” Priyanka says, “is painful. Rehearsing for ‘What’s Your Rashee?’ is killing me! But it’s an awesome kind of pain! But I’m still wondering, how do they do it?”

Kangana Ranaut Ultimate and Latest Pic

Monday 29 June 2009

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Surprise for Rakhi!


Rakhi Sawant has been pleasantly surprised with the kind of nazranaas that she has been getting from the 16 short-listed candidates since day one on NDTV Imagine’s Rakhi Ka Swayamvar.


Rakhi Sawant and Atirek Sharma

But she was really surprised to see Kanpur lad Atirek Sharma as being a part of her swayamvar. Atirek is a close friend of Rakhi’s ex, Abhishek Awasthi, but has now severed all ties with him. Atirek, who has been following Rakhi wherever she goes, got something really special to woo her. He went out of his way to collect Rakhi’s childhood pictures from her family members, capturing all the precious moments of her life till date to make a scrap book and gift it to the bride-to-be. She was really happy after she got this unexpected gift from her admirer, as she saw the photographs after many years. Well, it’s sure that Atirek is one contestant everyone would definitely keep an eye out for. To watch many more surprises on the show, tune in to Rakhi Ka Swayamvar starting tonight at 9 pm.

Ash, watch out for Freida!

Sunday 28 June 2009

http://hotandnerdy.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/hn-instyle-saris-ash.jpgSlumdog-sweetheart Freida Pinto, Aishwarya Rai and Sonam Kapoor are inadvertently stepping on each other’s toes.
Or so say reports. It is being said that a big brand that has Ash representing them overseas and Sonam in the Indian market, is also signing Freida Pinto as another of their international models. If this is true, then Freida will be walking the red carpet at all major international film festivals next year with Aishwarya for company. Freida, who has bagged films with Hollywood biggies Julian Schnabel and Woody Allen, is also expected to be on the jury of some of the biggest film festivals in 2010. Sonam on the other hand may be the face of yet another watch brand for the Indian market.

Kat penns New York diary


It’s easy to forget that beauty and brains can co-exist in one

Katrina Kaif

individual.

No wonder everyone who hears about it is surprised that Katrina Kaif can actually write very well and has penned what is finally going to appear as New York Diaries.

These diary entries contain her thoughts, observations and memories jotted down during the shooting of her film in Philadelphia. What started off as just random jottings has now shaped into a fine chronicle of a heart that beats for its art.
Initially, Katrina’s thoughts were meant to be serialised in a newspaper. But now, her producers have decided that her writing is too precious to be part of a daily. So, Katrina’s writings on New York will now appear in the form of a book.
Says her New York director Kabir Khan, “Katrina surprised me with her writing talent.”

But, Katrina is hesitant to acknowledge that her writings possess any literary value. “I like to write. It gives me a perspective on me and the world around me. We’re now looking for the correct pictures to illustrate the specific images in my diary entries.”
We also hear that Katrina is also secretly penning a script for herself. Earlier, it was Lara Dutta who wrote a script for herself.

Women feel the best at 28

Saturday 27 June 2009

At the age of 28, women feel best about their bodies, skin and love lives, a new study has shown. According to the survey, which asked 4,000 women, 28-year-olds are most likely to feel most confident and happiest.

9 goof ups to avoid in bed


When you're in bed with your lover, the last thing you want to do is turn them off. That said, here are a few common blunders that you should

9 goof ups to avoid in bed
9 goof ups to avoid in bed (Getty Images)
not commit.

1. Not kissing
Believe it or not, many people (and this includes women) don't kiss their partner when they're having sex. Why? Perhaps because the positioning doesn't allow for it or they are too eager to climax and feel that it might break the rhythm. Nevertheless, it is highly recommended that you make an effort to kiss your partner during the act – it will only add to the experience.

2. Biting before your partner's ready
While many people enjoy an aggressive partner, biting any part of their body before they are aroused may lead to pain and discomfort (and might even lessen the chances of any further action ) or simply scare them off. So make sure your partner is fully excited before you bite their ear, shoulders, neck or any other part of their body.

3. Ignoring everything but sexualised parts
Genitals are great, no doubt, but you should definitely pay attention to other parts of your lover's body and focus for some time on their entire body – knees, wrists, back and stomach are highly erogenous zones for men as well as women. Gently caressing these areas will help excite your partner further; in turn, increasing the chances of them pleasuring you back.

4. Putting your weight on your partner
Even if you're a girl! It's okay to lose yourself in the moment every once in a while and go crazy on your lover. But when you're lying on top of them, you have to be careful not to drop your weight on them. Chocking them or hindering their ability to breathe will anyway kill the moment and any chances of some good action.

5. Climaxing too soon/ too late
This one is especially for men. You need to have good control on your muscles to ensure that you can ejaculate at an appropriate time. Too soon and you may leave your partner unsatisfied; too late and it might leave your partner feeling as if they're pumping iron at the gym. To avoid this, spend a lot more time on foreplay (this will help men as well as women). If you take too long and can only ejaculate via manual stimulation, do your best to get your partner to orgasm and then they can return you the favour.

6. Not warning your partner before you climax
If you're going to let go – and this applies even to women – whether during oral sex or intercourse, you need to tell your partner beforehand. Something as simple as "I'm going to let go," will suffice. Your partner deserves to know.

7. Treating sex like porn
Although some couples enjoy having raunchy sex, you'd be wise to talk to your partner before you engage in such behaviour. If you begin being nasty with your lover without knowing if they like it first, chances are the scenario won't end on a happy note.

8. Staying quiet
Do you like to hear it when your partner is having a good time? So pay them the same respect and speak up when you're enjoying yourself. Something as simple as a little moan, or even saying something like, "that feels so good," will encourage them and educate them further on your moan zones.

9. Mechanical act
It may feel comfortable to you to pump away like you do at the gym, but you'll quickly discover that most people don't enjoy such an act. Mix it up a little bit; go fast at times, then slowly. Be creative and you'll find yourself enjoying some variation too.

What will happen to Michael Jackson’s kids?

Friday 26 June 2009

Michael Jackson kids

There are countless questions surrounding the tragic death of
Michael Jackson. How did it happen? Was it a heart attack? Did
prescription drugs kill him?

But an even larger question is emerging in the wake of the King of Pop’s untimely passing: What will happen with Jackson’s three children?

“They are in the care of a nanny and are with Mrs. Jackson — Katherine Jackson, the matriarch of the family,” Brian Oxman, Jackson family lawyer, told Canada AM co-host Seamus O’Regan on Friday.


Filmfare 27 June 2009 Cover Scan : Shilpa Shetty, Asin, Bipasha Basu


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Why Simi Garewal's role was cut out in 'Short Kut'?


http://mimg.sulekha.com/simi-garewal/stills/simi-garewal.jpgJune 27 (IANS) Arshad Warsi was excited about his 'Rendezvous with Simi Garewal' in forthcoming film 'Short Kut - The Con', but he was disappointed when the entire sequence was chopped off from the final cut.

'It's unfortunate but we had to let go of the sequence. This was done to keep the film's length in check. We wanted the film to be as close to the two-hour running length as possible. The film is now two hours and seven minutes and we didn't want to exceed it any further,' Anil Kapoor, the producer of 'Short Kut', told IANS.

The comedy has been directed by Neeraj Vora and is set to release July 10.

If the scene would have been retained, Simi would have made a comeback on the big screen after over two decades. She was last seen in her directorial debut 'Rukhsat' (1988) where she had Mithun Chakraborty and Anuradha Patel for company.

'The scene had turned out quite well actually,' said Arshad, who was expecting his 'rendezvous' with the graceful actress to be a hit among audiences.

'It was shot just like the way her shows are done with the white colour sets all intact. I had to act as this superstar actor Raju (the character which I play in the film) who gets this opportunity to make an appearance on her show.

'So there she is all sophisticated and elegant, while I behave as this cool star wearing those fancy, colourful and over the top clothes. The dialogues are really funny too as I start blabbering all that nonsense around how big

a fan I am of hers,' added Arshad.

Couldn't the scene have been retained?

'Well, some things can't be helped,' said Anil. 'Sometimes to make things perfect, you have to sacrifice some good things as well. Unfortunately, the Simi sequence is one of those good things.'

But the entire 'rendezvous' sequence has been retained to make it to the 'deleted scenes' section in the film's DVD and hence can be seen on the small screen.

'Yes, it will be there in the DVD. We can't let go off such a nice scene. It would make a good inclusion in the DVD and her fans won't be cheated,' said Anil.

Arshad added: 'Why just this scene -- there are so many other scenes that have turned out to be really marvellous but can't make it to the theatrical version. I'm sure if put together in a second DVD, they could all make for an altogether separate movie by itself.'

'Short Kut' also stars Akshaye Khanna and Amrita Rao, while Anil and Sanjay Dutt make special appearances for an item number.

B'Day Spl: Rare Pics of Karishma Kapoor in her Childhood

Wednesday 24 June 2009




Megan Fox will never go nude for a film role


megan_fox-9.jpgHere's a bit of non-news for you. Pretty crappy non-news too. It seems that Megan Fox will NEVER go nude for a movie. Nope. Check this:

The TRANSFORMERS actress told Parade that she appreciated being called a sex symbol but felt that she was "undeserving" of the label.

Fox said: "I get really embarrassed and I don't know how to handle it. It's like I'm in my underwear every other week in a magazine, so it's not like I'm trying to hide it.

"There's nothing wrong with being sexy or being sexual or being a woman. I'm not afraid of that. I just don't necessarily like to talk about myself that way."

She added: "I haven't even thought about doing nudity in films, but I'm gonna say that I'm leaning towards 'no', as of right now.

"I can't speak for the future. People change. It can be beautiful. And it can have a great impact. And it can win you an Oscar. I mean, not the nudity itself, but the role."

Shiney Ahuja's prison diary


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He won accolades for portraying the role of gangster Abu Salem in Anurag Basu's Gangster in his reel life. Little did Shiney Ahuja know that one day, in real life, he would be lodged in the same prison as Salem. Shiney is currently in judicial custody at the Arthur Road Jail in south Mumbai. He was arrested after he allegedly raped his maid servant at his Lokhandwala residence earlier this month.

We take a look at a day in the life of Shiney in the prison:

Where does he stay?

Shiney is currently in barrack one which he shares with Dawood gang member Mustafa Dossa, an accused in the 1993 serial blast case and Saji Mohan, the first Indian Police Service (IPS) officer to be arrested in a drug case. Mohan was arrested for stealing and selling heroin earlier this year by the Anti-Terrorism Squad. Each barrack houses 50 to 60 inmates.

The actor allegedly keeps to himself and doesn't interact with anyone. There have been reports that he has been crying insolably since the time of his arrest.

His daily routine

According to sources, the actor's day begins at 6.30 am. After his daily ablutions at the common toilet, (no separate bathroom for him), like many inmates he too is served breakfast. The food is usually cooked and served by convicts. Breakfast comprises two pavs (bread), poha, a cup of milk or tea. Since the actor is an under trial, he is not liable to work in prison. He studies his legal papers or reads the various newspapers that are kept in the prison.

According to a jail official, currency is not allowed in the prison. "If an inmate wants to read a newspaper, he has to inform his kin. His family members then send the required amount via money order to the jail authorities, who then provide newspapers to the convicts." An inmate can buy daily essentials like cigarettes, soaps, biscuits, tea, milk etc from the jail canteen with a coupon. He can keep coupons worth Rs 1,500. Each coupon costs Re 1. This money, too, is sent in by family and relatives.

At 11.30, it's time for lunch, which usually comprises of six chapattis, dal, rice, vegetables and onions. This is followed by an early dinner at 3 pm. Dinner again consists of dal, rice, chapattis and veggies. All food is absolutely free of cost. "Inmates can have an early lunch between 3 pm and 4.30 pm. Most of them prefer to have it in their barracks later in the night."

After a final roll call at 5 pm, Shiny along with all inmates is sent to the respective barracks. Lights are out at 10 pm. Unlike his luxurious bedroom, Shiney has to make do just with two bed sheets and a pillow in his dingy barrack. There are no fans in the barracks as earlier quite a few inmates have used them to commit suicide.

Time for family

Shiney's wife Anupam can meet him only twice a week. "Family members and relatives can meet inmates only two days a week, that too after they enroll their names with the prison authorities between 10 am and 1 pm," says the jail official. After waiting for a couple of hours, the inmate's kin and relatives can finally meet him just for five minutes.

Shiney can spend five vital minutes with his wife not in the luxurious confines of a meeting room but a dingy corridor with a wire mesh that separates the inmates from their kin.

History of Arthur Road jail

Shiney is lodged in Arthur Road jail, the most crowded jail in the country, which houses some of the most dangerous inmates. The official capacity of the prison is 804 inmates, however around 2,500 inmates are lodged here. Current inmates Built in 1920s by the British, the Arthur Road jail is the most sensitive jail in the country.

Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive after the 26/11 terrorist attacks, is housed in a separate highly-guarded cell here. After being extradited from Lisbon, Portugal in Nov 2005, gangster Abu Salem is housed in this high-security prison`.

The jail currently houses underworld don turned MLA Arun Gawli and his gang members, underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's associates and the members of Chhota Rajan gang. It also houses Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit who was arrested in connection with the Malegaon 2008 serial bomb blasts.

Emile Jerome Matthew, a captain in the Indian navy and the main accused in the murder of Neeraj Grover, creative head of Synergy Adlabs is also housed here. Matthew, along with his girlfriend, actress Maria Susairaj had stabbed Grover and later burnt his body in 2008.

Italian PM Berlusconi says he's never paid for sex


Embattled Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said he has never paid a woman for sex, the subject of an embarrassing investigation


under way in southern Italy.

"I have never paid a woman," Berlusconi said in an interview to appear today. "I have never seen the satisfaction that there could be in it without the pleasure of conquest," he told the celebrity weekly Chi.

The 72-year-old billionaire is embroiled in a host of scandals from his links to an aspiring teen model to a messy divorce.

A call girl, Patrizia D'Addario, told the leading daily Corriere della Sera last week that she had gone twice to Berlusconi's Rome residence on the promise of earning 2,000 euros (USD 2,800) for each visit.

Investigators in Bari have interviewed D'Addario and three other young women who claim to have been paid to take part in a party at one of Berlusconi's homes, Italian media have reported.

"Someone gave a very precise and extremely well paid mission to this Ms D'Addario," Berlusconi charges in the interview, according to excerpts carried by the ANSA news agency.

Asked whether he was aware that D'Addario worked as an elite escort, he replied: "If I suspected someone of such a thing, I would keep her thousands of kilometres away.

Will Salman, Ajay make good rock stars?


Salman and Ajay Vipul Shah’s London Dreams is a story of two childhood friends, played by Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan, who hail from Mumbai and struggle to become rock stars in London. Interestingly, Salman will be seen as a simple guy while Ajay will be seen in a completely hip look.
Salman who is a style icon in real life be seen wearing jeans and kurti while Ajay’s look will be a surprise package. Ajay, who loves to keep his style simple will don silver hoops and will sport a tattoo too. “Ajay looks very stylish which will surprise all his fans,” says a unit hand.

And the credit goes to designer Ana Singh who experimented with Ajay’s look. “Though he plays a guy from the rock band his look is not exactly like a rock star. I gave a complete young feel to his style. Ajay will be seen sporting lots of jackets, scarves and funky glasses and accessories. He has a different hairdo too,” revealed the designer.

Erin Finnegan & Noah Fulmor in first zero gravity wedding

Monday 22 June 2009

megan fox pic


Katrina Kaif Rare Unseen


Katrina Kaif The Boom Boom Girl Rare Hot Pictures

I see part of myself in Kareena: Raveena Tandon


raveena_tandonShe is known to be outspoken. National Award winning actress Raveena Tandon makes no bones about naming her favourite actress in the new brigade, saying she likes Kareena Kapoor in whom she sees a part of herself.

“Among the new actresses I see not a reflection but a part of me in Kareena. She has a very strong, distinct and vibrant persona. She is electric and has an amazing screen presence unlike most actresses today,” Raveena told reporters.

“A lot of female actors are short nowadays. I like taller girls. Kareena`s height is good. This is what actresses should be like,” said Raveena, known for films like ‘Mohra’ and ‘Andaz Apna Apna’.

Raveena, who debuted with the 1991 movie ‘Patthar Ke Phool’, was considered among the most ravishing actresses of her time. But after tying the knot with distributor Anil Thadani in 2004, she bid adieu to movies to concentrate on her family.

She came back to limelight last year as a judge on kids` song and dance TV reality show “Chak De Bachche” and now she is judging another kids` comedy show “Miyan - Chapter 2″ on Colors.

Being a mother of two - four-year-old Rasha and nearly two-year-old Ranbir - Raveena says she has an instant connect with children and that is why she associates herself with children`s shows.

“I do approve of shows which deal with kids simply because they are very uncomplicated. With them, nothing is made up, there are no controversies and the best part is that only true talent carries the show on its shoulders,” she said.

As a judge, the actress doesn`t like being a strict teacher on the show.

“I want to be like a second parent to kids on the show. It doesn`t make sense to sit them down and discourage kids if they don`t perform well. I would rather explain things nicely. I cannot break anyone`s heart. Besides, I also believe that the role of a judge on a kids` reality show is to make them blossom in their craft,” said the 34-year-old actress.

Apart from the show, Raveena will also soon be seen in Revathy Verma`s film “Chassni” alongside Jaya Bachchan.

As of now, Raveena is enjoying her vacation full throttle - not only because she is with her husband and children but also since it has helped her lose “two pounds ” without making an extra effort.

“I love this holiday. My kids have been just moving around and Anil and I are just running after them. We went to Disneyland in Hong Kong recently where they sat in strollers and made me move them around. So I have happily lost almost two pounds,” she said in an excited tone.

Sex, one of the great mysteries of evolutionary biology, becomes even more complicated when scientists study it in yeast.


Sex is a costly habit. Current evolutionary thought holds that sex is ubiquitous among successful species and conserved for its evolutionary benefits: When the environment grows harsh, a sexually reproducing species can trade its genes around, trying for a better hand of cards. But—here’s the rub—sex also produces fewer offspring over the long term than clonal reproduction. A sexually reproducing female has only half the fitness of an asexual female, a phenomenon biologist John Maynard Smith described as the two-fold cost of sex. It’s no wonder the question of how useful and widespread sex really is—the question of why it has been maintained—has troubled everyone from Richard Dawkins (“The evolution of sex…that problem of problems”) to Graham Bell (“Sex is the queen of problems in evolutionary biology.”). Now scientists studying yeast, a group that includes some of the most scrutinized sexual cycles in biology, are finding that the hardest thing may be just telling whether sex is even happening.

Biologists collaborating with the Broad Institute’s Fungal Genome Initiative were hoping to see genes for sexual cell division, called meiosis, in eight newly sequenced genomes. Though yeast sex is difficult to watch live—one recent project had to simulate all the conditions of human skin to get the fungi to “get it on”—observing the distribution of alleles in a population and seeing whether spores, usually a product of meiosis, are formed, can suggest whether sexual recombination is at work. On the basis of spore formation, Joseph Heitman and Jennifer Reedy of Duke University considered two of the species, Candida lusitaniae and C. guilliermondii, candidates for sexual cell division. The researchers were poised to see whether the genomes agreed. What they found was remarkable: Although all population-level signs pointed to sexual recombination, those two species of yeast each lacked dozens of genes previously considered crucial for meiosis.

Heitman and Reedy’s research suggests we know less about the genetic underpinnings of yeast sex than we thought we did. Our present knowledge rests on the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the major model organisms in the study of eukaryote genetics. They have clear meiotic cycles. In these and almost all other yeast, a gene called the mating-type locus determines whether a cell is one of two mating types. When two cells of different mating types come in close vicinity, the cells grow extensions called shmoos that fuse to form a cell with a double dose of DNA. This “double” form is stable until environmental stresses trigger meiosis, causing the sexual cycle to repeat.

Comparisons of the genomes of those yeast with the genome of C. albicans, the most common pathogenic yeast, yielded what geneticists had considered the “meiotic toolbox,” the genes necessary for yeast sex. C. albicans has a parasexual cycle, which involves two cells fusing to produce the “double” form and then a gradual loss of chromosomes until the normal number is restored. That parasexual cycle, geneticists thought, was due to the absence of some genes necessary for meiosis.

Unfortunately for proponents of the toolbox argument, C. lusitaniae and C. guilliermondii have even fewer of the genes putatively necessary for meiosis than C. albicans does. Nevertheless, C. lusitaniae and C. guilliermondii do seem to be having meiotic sex. The one gene all three share is for an enzyme called SPO11, which seems to cause meiotic recombination in all studied organisms. It’s possible, says Heitman, that in C.albicans SPO11 has been reconfigured to cause recombination without meiosis. If so, the presence of SPO11 may indicate that C. albicans has developed a way to reap the benefits of recombination without having a meiotic sexual cycle.

But if some yeast have developed an alternative pathway to meiotic recombination, using any standard meiotic genes as a sex diagnostic may no longer make sense. Genes used for one purpose in one species may have evolved into a different use in another, notes John Logsdon of University of Iowa, who studies the evolution of meiosis. Meiotic genes in one species may be playing different roles in another.

To unravel why sex exists, we must first identify the species where it does happen. If those genes cannot be depended on, a new diagnostic may be in order—we might even go back to the basics. “[Though] sex is often the escape pathway, and most species have sex when things are bad, it’s traditional to catch them in the act,” says Logsdon. “I keep telling my colleagues, ‘You just need to catch them doing it.’”

I've been imperfect father

Saturday 20 June 2009

US President Barack Obama has written a letter for his daughters on the occasion of Father's Day on Sunday, saying that he could not be a perfect father.

"I know I have been an imperfect father. I know I have made mistakes," said Obama in the letter that will be published in a magazine reported people.com

"I drove Michelle and newborn Malia home from the hospital nearly 11 years ago and I think about the pledge I made to her that I would give her what I never had. And that if I could be anything in life, I would be a good father," he added.

Obama has two daughters Malia,10, and Sasha, eight.

Genelia Pics


Nicole Kidman pregnant?