title: William Abadie

text: A graduate of L'École Claude Mathieu in Paris and The Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in New York City. William was honored with a Life Time Membership at the Actors Studio in 2000. Two years later, during the run of his self-produced Off-Broadway production of Dennis McIntyre's "Modigliani" (2002), he received positive reviews from "The New York Times" Theater Critic, Anita Gates. This milestone allowed him to attract established representation, which led to the start of his professional film and television career in the United States.


title: William Abadie

text: Abadie portrayed memorable characters in some of America's most acclaimed and iconic TV shows: "Sex and the City", "The O.C.", "ER", "Entourage", "Ugly Betty", "90210", "Gossip Girl", "Person of Interest", "The Mentalist", "Gotham", as well as the Golden Globe Award-winning show "Homeland". On the silver screen Abadie has appeared in blockbusters including "" and Shawn Levy's "The Pink Panther", in which he plays opposite Steve Martin. Most recently William completed filming the second season of the Emmy and Golden-Globe nominated Netflix comedy-drama "Emily in Paris", in which he plays the role of Antoine Lambert, the seductive and married owner of a French fragrance house.


title: William Abadie

text: In early 2022 William took on the role of Zed in the HBO Max reboot of "Sex and The City": "And Just Like That".


title: William Abadie

text: He is an accomplished Alpine snowboarder, triathlete, Ironman Lake Placid finisher, as well as a devoted marathon runner with dozens of races under his belt. Mr. Abadie resides between New York City and Paris.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company that took place in 1848 and 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently became the North-West Frontier Province, by the East India Company.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: On 19 April 1848 Patrick Vans Agnew of the civil service and Lieutenant William Anderson of the Bombay European regiment, having been sent to take charge of Multan from Diwan Mulraj Chopra, were murdered there, and within a short time the Sikh troops joined in open rebellion. Governor-General of India Lord Dalhousie agreed with Sir Hugh Gough, the commander-in-chief, that the British East India Company's military forces were neither adequately equipped with transport and supplies, nor otherwise prepared to take the field immediately. He also foresaw the spread of the rebellion, and the necessity that must arise, not merely for the capture of Multan, but also for the entire subjugation of the Punjab. He therefore resolutely delayed to strike, organized a strong army for operations in November, and himself proceeded to the Punjab. Despite the brilliant successes gained by Herbert Edwardes against Mulraj, and Gough's indecisive victories at the Battle of Ramnagar in November and at the Battle of Chillianwala on 13 January 1849, the stubborn resistance at Multan showed that the task required the utmost resources of the government. At length, on 22 January, Multan was taken by General Whish, who was thus set at liberty to join Gough's army. On 21 February, Gough won a complete victory at the Battle of Gujrat. The Sikh army was pursued to Rawalpindi, where it laid down its arms, and their Afghan allies retreated from the Punjab.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: After the victory at Gujrat, Lord Dalhousie annexed the Punjab for the East India Company in 1849. For his services the Earl of Dalhousie received the thanks of the British parliament and a step in the peerage, as marquess.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: The Sikh Confederacy Misls of the Punjab were consolidated into an Empire and expanded by Maharaja Ranjit Singh during the early years of the nineteenth century. During the same period, the British East India Company's territories had been expanded until they were adjacent to the Punjab. Ranjit Singh maintained an uneasy alliance with the East India Company, while increasing the military strength of the Sikh Khalsa Army, which also saw itself as the embodiment of the state and religion, to deter British aggression against his state and to expand Sikh territory to the north and north west, capturing territory from Afghanistan and Kashmir.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: When Ranjit Singh died in 1839, the Sikh Empire began to fall into disorder. There was a succession of short-lived rulers at the central Durbar (court), and increasing tension between the Army and the Durbar. The East India Company began to build up its military strength on the borders of the Punjab. Eventually, the increasing tension goaded the Sikh Army to invade British territory, under weak and possibly treacherous leaders.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: At the end of the war, the Sikh Empire was forced to cede some valuable territory (the Jullundur Doab) to the East India Company, and Gulab Singh, the ruler of Jammu, was allowed to acquire entire Jammu and Kashmir from the Sikh Empire by a large cash payment to the East India Company. Some of the Sikh Army were forced to make an expedition to oust the Governor of Kashmir in favour of Gulab Singh.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: The boy Maharaja Duleep Singh of the Sikh Empire was allowed to retain his throne, but a British Resident, Sir Henry Lawrence, controlled the policy of the Durbar. Duleep Singh's mother, Maharani Jind Kaur, continually tried to regain some of her former influence as Regent and was eventually exiled by Lawrence. While some Sikh generals and courtiers welcomed her dismissal, others resented Lawrence's action. Furthermore, the Sikh Sardars were forced to considerably reduce their territorial and judicial control leaving only four Sardars in charge of the judiciary, with Sardar Chattar Singh Attariwalla controlling the area between the Jhelum and the Indus, Sardar Kahan Singh Mann controlling Lahore, Sardar Ram Singh Jallawala controlling the Chaj Doab, and Sardar Lehna Singh Majithia controlling the Majha including lands south east of the Ravi up to the hills and down to Kasur.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: Some of the Sikh Army had to be kept in being, since many predominantly Muslim areas of the Sikh Empire threatened to ally with Dost Mohammed Khan in Afghanistan or to lapse into disorder, and only force of arms could keep them in subjugation. The British were unwilling to incur the financial and manpower costs of using large numbers of British or Bengal Army units for this task. To the contrary, the Governor-General of India, Viscount Hardinge sought to make economies after the war by reducing the size of the Bengal Army by 50,000 men. The Sardars (generals) of the Sikh Army naturally resented carrying out the orders of comparatively junior British officers and administrators.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: Early in 1848, Sir Henry Lawrence, who was ill, departed on leave to England. Although it was assumed that his younger brother John Lawrence would be appointed in his place, Lord Dalhousie, who had replaced Lord Hardinge as Governor-General, appointed Sir Frederick Currie instead. Currie was a legalist, based in Calcutta, who was unfamiliar with military matters and with the Punjab. While the Lawrences were comparatively informal and familiar with the junior officers who were Residents and Agents in the various districts of the Punjab, Currie was stiffer in manner and was inclined to treat his subordinates' reports with caution. In particular, he refused to act on reports from James Abbott, the Political Agent in Hazara, who was convinced that Sardar Chattar Singh Attariwalla was actively plotting a rebellion with other Sirdars.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: The city of Multan was part of the Sikh kingdom, having been captured by Ranjit Singh in 1818. In 1848, it was governed by a Hindu viceroy, Dewan Mulraj. After the end of the First Anglo-Sikh war, Mulraj had behaved independently. When he was required by the British-controlled Durbar in Lahore to pay an increased tax assessment and revenues which were in arrears, Mulraj attempted to give up power to his son, so as to maintain his family's position as rulers. Currie instead appointed Sardar Kahan Singh Mann to succeed to the governorship and appointed a British Political Agent, Lieutenant Patrick Vans Agnew, to accompany him.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: On 18 April 1848, Kahan Singh and Vans Agnew arrived at Multan with another officer, Lieutenant William Anderson, and a small escort. Mulraj handed over the keys of the fortress, but as Vans Agnew's party attempted to take possession, they were attacked by a party of Mulraj's irregular troops, and a mob from the city. Both officers were wounded, and were rescued by Kahan Singh. They were taken to a mosque outside the city. Their escorts defected to Mulraj, and the two officers were murdered by the mob the next day.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: Mulraj later claimed that he had not instigated these attacks, but he was committed to rebellion because of them. He presented Vans Agnew's head to Kahan Singh and told him to take it back to Lahore. The news of the killings spread over the Punjab, and unrest and disquiet increased. Large numbers of Sikh soldiers deserted the regiments loyal to the Durbar to join those prepared to rebel under the leadership of Mulraj and disaffected Sirdars.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: Lieutenant Herbert Edwardes, the British Political Agent in Bannu, had been near Multan in April but was unable to save Vans Agnew. He hastily levied some Pakhtun irregular troops.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: On 18 June 1848, 8,000 Bhawalpuris under Futteh Mohammed Khan, aided by 3,000 Sikh irregulars under Lieutenant Edwardes, fought 8,000 Sikhs under Rung Ram. The Bhawalpuris were repulsed in an attack on the Sikh positions, but the arrival of Lieutenant Edwardes' guns turned the scale, and at a second attempt the entrenchments were stormed and captured, with a loss to the victors of 300 men. The Sikhs lost 500 killed in the action, and many more during their flight to Multan.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: Fought 1 July 1848, when a force of Bhawalpuris and British 18,000 strong, under Lieutenant Edwardes, encountered 12,000 Sikhs under Malraj. The Sikhs attacked, but were beaten off, largely owing to the superiority of the British artillery, and defeated with heavy loss.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: Multan, defended by the Sikhs, under Mulraj, was besieged by Lieutenant Edwardes with about 1,200 men in July, 1848.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: On learning of the events at Multan, Currie wrote to Sir Hugh Gough, the Commander in Chief of the Bengal Army, recommending that a major British force should at once move upon Multan. However Gough, supported by Dalhousie, the Governor General, declined to order major units of the East India Company to the Punjab until the end of the hot weather and monsoon seasons, which would not be until November. Instead, Currie ordered only a small force from the Bengal Army under General Whish, and several contingents of locally recruited irregulars and detachments of the Sikh Khalsa Army to join the siege. These forces joined Edwardes at Multan between 18 and 28 August. To the alarm of several Political Agents, the force from the Sikh Army included a large contingent commanded by Sardar Sher Singh Attariwalla, Chattar Singh's son.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: Some Political Agents were already taking action to forestall outbreaks of rebellion. Captain John Nicholson, leading irregular cavalry based at Peshawar, seized the vital fort of Attock on the Indus River from its Sikh garrison while they were still unprepared, or undecided on rebellion. Nicholson's force then linked up with James Abbott's local Hazara levies to capture the Margalla Hills which separated Hazara from the other parts of the Punjab. When Chattar Singh openly rebelled in August, his force was unable to leave Hazara without fighting a battle. Although Chattar Singh twice succeeded in capturing the passes through the hills, he nevertheless failed to take advantage of this (possibly because of dissension among his senior officers and continual harassment by pro-British irregulars), and retreated into Hazara.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: On 14 September, Sher Singh's army openly rebelled at Multan. He did not join Mulraj however. He and Mulraj conferred at a carefully chosen neutral site, at which it was agreed that Mulraj would give some money from his treasury to Sher Singh's army, which would march north into the Central Punjab and ultimately rejoin Chattar Singh. Meanwhile, Whish was forced to raise the siege on 22 September, until he was reinforced.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: As the cold weather began in November, substantial contingents from the East India Company's armies at last took the field. A contingent from the Bombay Army (administered separately from the Bengal Army) had been ordered to reinforce Whish and besiege Multan. This force was delayed by a petty squabble over seniority and could arrive only when its first commander (who was senior to Whish and refused to serve under him) was replaced by a more junior officer. Whish's army was supplied and reinforced by sea and river transport up the rivers Indus and Chenab. Whish renewed the siege of Multan on 27 December, with 17,000 men and 64 guns. After a heavy bombardment the city was stormed on 2 January 1849. On 22 January, Mulraj surrendered the citadel. He was imprisoned for the remainder of his life. The ending of the siege allowed Whish, with large numbers of heavy guns, to reinforce the army under Sir Hugh Gough.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: Rungur Muzl fort was controlled by Sher Singh Attariwalla and was the first sign of revolt from the Lahore Durbar. The Sikhs from the army saw the British troops coming in and attacked them with full force. The Sikhs won the battle but soon they surrendered as there was a very small force.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: Sir Hugh Gough led his main force against Sher Singh's army, which defended the line of the River Chenab for several weeks. On 22 November, the Sikhs repelled a British cavalry attack on a bridgehead on the eastern side of the river at the Battle of Ramnagar. Although they subsequently withdrew from their exposed bridgehead, the Sikhs captured a British gun and inflicted heavy losses. They regarded the battle as a victory and their morale was raised.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: On 3 December 1848, Gough despatched a cavalry force under Major General Joseph Thackwell to cross the Chenab upstream of Ramnagar and turn the Sikh left, but Thackwell then paused to await infantry reinforcements, allowing the Sikhs to withdraw without interference. Gough claimed this indecisive action as a victory.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: At the start of 1849, Amir Dost Mohammed Khan of Afghanistan sided with the rebellious Sikhs, who agreed to cede the city of Peshawar and its surrounding area which had been conquered by Ranjit Singh early in the nineteenth century. Dost Mohammed Khan's support of the Sikhs was cautious, but when 3,500 Afghan horsemen approached the vital fort of Attock on the Indus River, its garrison of Muslim troops installed earlier by Nicholson defected. This allowed Chattar Singh to move out of Hazara and march west and then south, intending to link up with Sher Singh's army. Dalhousie had earlier ordered Gough to halt operations while waiting for Multan to fall, which would allow Whish to reinforce him. Learning of the fall of Attock, he instead ordered Gough to destroy Sher Singh's army before Chattar Singh could join him.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: Gough unexpectedly encountered Sher Singh's position near the Jhelum River on 13 January 1849. Sher Singh had cunningly concealed his army, and Gough was faced with the choice of withdrawing, or attacking when it was late in the day. Gough unhesitatingly took the latter course. The resulting Battle of Chillianwala was desperately fought. Gough's troops, attacking into thick scrub without effective artillery support, suffered heavy losses. Some units lost their colours (which was regarded as a disgrace) and part of one British cavalry regiment fled in panic, resulting in the loss of four guns, also reckoned a humiliation. Sher Singh's army was also hard hit, losing twelve of its own guns.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: Three days of heavy rain followed, discouraging both sides from renewing battle. After both armies had faced each other for three days without renewing the action, both withdrew. Sher Singh continued northwards to join Chattar Singh, which made the battle into a strategic British defeat. Gough nevertheless claimed a victory, which Dalhousie scornfully dubbed as "perhaps poetical."


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: There was much alarm at the losses Gough had suffered. His tactics were severely criticised. Military experts in Britain described him as a "superannuated general who could not mount his horse without assistance" and he was replaced by General Charles James Napier, who would require several weeks to arrive from England. Some junior officers reckoned that the true cause of the setback lay lower down the ranks. Promotion in both the British and Bengal armies came slowly, and by the time officers were appointed to command regiments and brigades, they were too old, and worn out by harsh climate and disease. At Chillianwala, several senior officers had proved unable to command their units effectively.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: Meanwhile, Whish's force completed their siege works around Multan, their batteries opened fire and made a breach in the defences, which the infantry stormed. Mulraj surrendered on 22 January. The ending of the siege allowed Whish to reinforce Gough. In particular, Whish's division had large numbers of heavy guns, which the Sikhs lacked.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: As Gough's army closed in on the Sikh Army, he sent William Hodson to scout the Sikh Army's position. Sher Singh attempted a last outflanking move, sending cavalry to cross the Chenab, and re-cross in Gough's rear. They were thwarted by heavy rains which made the river difficult to cross, and by British irregular cavalry led by Harry Burnett Lumsden. On 21 February, Gough attacked the Sikh Army at the Battle of Gujrat. Here, he began the battle with a three-hour bombardment from almost 100 guns, which drove the Sikhs from their hasty entrenchments. He then sent his cavalry, led by Sir Joseph Thackwell, and horse artillery after them in a pursuit which lasted for four hours. The Sikh loss was estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000 men and 53 guns; the British casualties were 96 killed and 700 wounded..


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: On 12 March, Chattar Singh and Sher Singh surrendered to Sir Walter Gilbert near Rawalpindi. Some 20,000 men (mainly irregular cavalry) laid down their arms. The Afghan contingent hastily withdrew through Attock and Peshawar, which the British reoccupied. Dost Mohammad Khan later signed a treaty acknowledging British possession of these cities.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: Lord Dalhousie proclaimed annexation of the Punjab on 29 March 1849. His foreign secretary, Henry Meirs Elliot, arrived at Lahore to obtain the signatures of the members of the Council of Regency and of the minor king, Maharaja Duleep Singh. A darbar was held in the Lahore Fort and, with the British troops lined up on his right and his helpless Sardars on his left, the young Duleep Singh affixed his signatures to the document which deprived him of his crown and kingdom.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: The Sikh defeat had several causes. Their administration of the population of the Punjab had been poor, which meant that their large armies found it difficult to find enough food while the East India Company had brought overwhelming force against them.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: The Sikh Wars gave the two sides a mutual respect for each other's fighting prowess (although the war itself had been unchivalrously fought; the Sikhs took no prisoners at Chillianwala, and the British had taken no prisoners at Gujrat).


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: There was an increased recruitment of people from various communities of the Punjab in the Punjab Irregular Force under British command. These recruits fought for the East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, against the mutineers and other opponents (mostly high-caste Hindus from Eastern provinces, and forces or loyalists of Shia, Maratha and Mughal rulers). These Punjabi recruits had especially little sympathy with the Hindu mutineers of the Bengal Army, ironically contributed to by the latter's role in helping the British in the Anglo-Sikh wars. A long history of enmity of the Sikhs with Mughal rule did not help the mutineers' cause either, given their choice of Bahadur Shah Zafar as a symbolic leader.


title: Second Anglo-Sikh War

text: The battle honour ""Punjaub"" was distributed with a free hand to all regiments employed in the operations of the Anglo-Sikh Wars during 1848–49 vide Gazette of the Governor General 277 of 1849, and the list of regiments honoured was issued vide. GoGG 803 of 1853. The Bombay Army was awarded separately and the spelling was changed from 'Punjaub' to 'Punjab' vide "Gazette of India" No 1079 of 1910. Forty of the honoured units of the Bengal Army were consumed by the Mutiny. India has now raised a memorial at Ferozepore to pay homage to men of the Sikh Khalsa Army who laid down their lives in the Anglo-Sikh Wars and the battle honour is considered to be repugnant.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alamogordo () is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was 31,358 as of the 2020 census. Alamogordo is known for its connection with the 1945 Trinity test, which was the first ever explosion of an atomic bomb.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Humans have lived in the Alamogordo area for at least 11,000 years. The present settlement, established in 1898 to support the construction of the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad, is an early example of a planned community. The city was incorporated in 1912. Tourism became an important economic factor with the creation of White Sands National Monument in 1933, which is still one of the biggest attractions of the city today. During the 1950s–60s, Alamogordo was an unofficial center for research on pilot safety and the developing United States' space program.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alamogordo is a charter city with a council-manager form of government. City government provides a large number of recreational and leisure facilities for its citizens, including a large park in the center of the city, many smaller parks scattered through the city, a golf course, Alameda Park Zoo, a network of walking paths, Alamogordo Public Library, and a senior citizens' center. Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center is a nonprofit shared military/civilian facility that is also the hospital for Holloman Air Force Base.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Tularosa Basin has been inhabited for at least 11,000 years. There are signs of previous inhabitants in the area such as the Clovis culture, the Folsom culture, the peoples of the Archaic period, and the Formative stage. The Mescalero Apache were already living in the Tularosa Basin when the Spanish came in 1534, and Mescalero oral history says they have always lived there. The Spanish built a chapel at La Luz (about from the future site of Alamogordo) in 1719, although La Luz was not settled until about 1860.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The city of Alamogordo was founded in June 1898, when the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad, headed by Charles Bishop Eddy, extended the railway to the town. Eddy influenced the design of the community, which included large wide thoroughfares and tree-lined irrigation canals. Charles Eddy's brother, John Arthur Eddy, named the new city Alamogordo ("large/fat cottonwood" in Spanish) after a grove of fat cottonwoods he remembered from the Pecos River area. When Alamogordo was laid out in 1898, the east–west streets were given numerical designations, while north–south streets were named after states. The present-day White Sands Boulevard was then called Pennsylvania Avenue.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Several government buildings in Alamogordo were constructed by the Works Progress Administration, a government program created in 1935 in response to the Great Depression. These include the Otero County Administration Building at 1101 New York Avenue, a Pueblo style building originally constructed as the main U.S. Post Office in 1938. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The main entrance portico features frescoes by Peter Hurd completed in 1942. The Post Office moved out in 1961, and the building was used by a succession of Federal agencies and was known as the Federal Building. The last Federal agency to occupy it was the United States Forest Service who used it as the headquarters of the Lincoln National Forest until October 2008, when that agency moved to a newly constructed building. Ownership of the building was transferred to Otero County government and many government offices were moved from the Courthouse to its new Administration Building in February 2009.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: In 1983, Atari, Inc. buried over 700 thousand Atari 2600 video game cartridges, most notably "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial", in Alamogordo's landfill. Alamogordo briefly made international news in late 2001 when Christ Community Church held a public book burning of books in the Harry Potter series, and several other series, on December 30.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: As of 2010, Alamogordo had a total area of , all land. The city is located at an elevation of on the western flank of the Sacramento Mountains and on the eastern edge of the Tularosa Basin. It lies within the Rio Grande rift and in the northernmost part of the Chihuahuan Desert. Tectonic activity is low in the Tularosa Basin. Plants native to the area are typical of the southern New Mexico foothills and include creosote bush, mesquite, saltbush, cottonwood, desert willow, and many species of cactus and yucca.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The Tularosa Basin is an endorheic, or closed, basin; that is, no water flows out of it. Because of this and because of the geology of the region, water in the basin is hard: it has very high total dissolved solids concentrations, in excess of 3,000 mg/L. The Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility, a Bureau of Reclamation laboratory doing research and development on desalination of brackish water, is located in Alamogordo. The gypsum crystals of White Sands National Park are formed in Lake Lucero. Water drains from the mountains carrying dissolved gypsum and collects in Lake Lucero. After the water dries, the winds pick up the gypsum crystals and distribute them over the basin.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alamogordo has a cool arid climate (Köppen "BWk") with hot summers and mild winters. Rainfall is low and usually confined to the monsoon from July to September, when half a typical year's rainfall of will occur – although December 1991 did see . The wettest calendar year has been 1941 with and the driest 1952 with , while the wettest month on record has been September 1941 when fell. September 1941 also saw the largest daily rainfall at Alamogordo with falling on the 22nd of that month.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Temperatures outside of monsoonal storms are very hot during the summer: 94.8 days exceed and temperatures as high as occurred on June 22, 1981, and July 8 of 1951. During the winter, days are very mild and sunny, but nights are cold, with reached on 73.6 mornings during an average winter, although only seven mornings have ever fallen to or below , with the coldest temperature recorded at Alamogordo being during a major cold wave on January 11, 1962. Snow is very rare, with a mean of no more than and a median very close to zero. The most snowfall in one month was in December 1960.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: As of the census of 2020, there were 31,384 people. During the 2000 census, there were 13,704 households, and 9,728 families residing in the city. There were 15,920 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 75.4% White; 5.6% African American, 1.1% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 12.1% from some other race, and 4.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 32.0% of the population.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: There were 13,704 households, out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.07.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: In the city the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: In 1999, the median income for a household in the city was $30,928, and the median income for a family was $35,673. Males had a median income of $28,163 versus $18,860 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,662. About 13.2% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.9% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alamogordo's and Otero County's July 1, 2008, population were estimated at 35,757 and 62,776 respectively by the United States Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Previously Alamogordo had a German community due to the presence of the German Air Force at Holloman Air Force Base; in 1992 that air force made Holloman its main pilot training center in the United States. Holloman was chosen due to its weather conditions. There was a subdivision called "Little Germany" with houses that had German-style electrical outlets. The Deutsche Schule Alamogordo educated German children, as did the local schools. Additionally area supermarkets had German cuisine.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: There were to be 1,110 German dependents and 900 German military personnel in Alamogordo by 1999. By 2003 there were about 2,000 Germans in Alamogordo. That year there were tensions between Americans and Germans since Germany chose not to join the U.S. in the Iraq War.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alamogordo is the economic center of Otero County, with nearly half the Otero County population living within the city limits. Alamogordo today has very little manufacturing and has a primarily service and retail economy, driven by tourism, a large nearby military installation and a concentration of military retirees. In 2006 the per capita income in Otero County was $22,377 versus per capita income in New Mexico of $29,346.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alamogordo was founded as a company town to support the building of the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad, a portion of the transcontinental railway that was being constructed in the late 19th century. Initially its main industry was timbering for railroad ties. The railroad founders were also eager to found a major town that would persist after the railroad was completed; they formed the Alamogordo Improvement Company to develop the area, making Alamogordo an early example of a planned community. The Alamogordo Improvement Company owned all the land, platted the streets, built the first houses and commercial buildings, donated land for a college, and placed a restrictive covenant on each deed prohibiting the manufacture, distribution, or sale of intoxicating liquor.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Tourism became an important part of the local economy from the creation of White Sands National Monument in 1934. Construction began on the Alamogordo Army Air Field (the present-day Holloman Air Force Base) in 1942, and the Federal government has been a strong presence in Alamogordo ever since. Education has also been an important part of the local economy. In addition to the local school system, Alamogordo is home to the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, founded in 1903, and a branch of New Mexico State University founded in 1958. The largest non-government employer in the city is the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center with 650 employees in 2008.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Holloman Air Force Base, located approximately west of the city limits, is the largest employer of Alamogordo residents, and has a major effect on the local economy. According to some estimates, Holloman accounts for half of the Alamogordo economy. According to the 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs office, as of January 2008 Holloman directly employs 6,111 personnel with a gross payroll of $266 million. It indirectly creates another 2,047 jobs with a payroll of $77 million. The estimated amount spent in the community, including payroll, construction projects, supplies, services, health care, and education, is $482 million.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: An estimated 6,700 military retirees live in the area. Counting both USAF and German Air Force personnel there are 1,383 active military and 1,641 military dependents living on base and 2,765 active military and 2,942 military dependents living off base. After 27 years of training at Holloman, the German Air Force left in 2019. They relocated their pilot training to Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Future Combat Systems is a wide-ranging modernization project of the US Army. Much of the work will be done at Fort Bliss, with some at White Sands Missile Range and some at Holloman Air Force Base. Alamogordo is expected to get some economic benefit due to its proximity to these three bases.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Otero County Economic Development Council is a nonprofit organization founded in 1984. Its focus has generally been on job creation and recruiting and expanding businesses in Otero County, including helping them satisfy business regulations in New Mexico and lining up funding. Its role expanded in 2000, when Alamogordo passed an Economic Development Gross Receipts Tax. OCEDC continues to work to attract businesses, but now it also helps develop the incentive packages that will be paid by the new tax, and a portion of the tax receipts go to fund OCEDC's operating expenses. Formal economic development plans have been adopted by Alamogordo and by Otero County.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: OCEDC has recruited several new employers by using financial incentives. A 1-800-Flowers call center opened in November 2001 and received $1.25 million in city rent abatements, a 50% reduction in property taxes from Otero County, and $940,000 in plant training funds from the State of New Mexico.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: A Sunbaked Biscuits cookie factory opened in 2006 and received $800,000 in job-training incentives from the state.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: When the company went out of business in 2007, Marietta Baking took over the cookie factory and received interest-free loans, job-training incentives, and partial forgiveness of indebtedness for job creation.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: A branch office of PreCheck Inc., a company performing background checks of health-care workers, opened in 2006. PreCheck received $2.4 million in high-wage job creation tax credits, $1.5 million in job-training subsidies, $1.5 million in capital outlay money for roads and infrastructure, a $625,000 allocation from City of Alamogordo for upgrading sewer lines in the area, and 20.8 acres of land from Heritage Group, a developer.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: an office of Otero County Economic Development Council, promotes film-making in Otero County by publicizing potential locations in the county and New Mexico's film financial incentive programs and by recruiting extras for film productions. It sponsors the Desert Light Film Competition for middle and high school students to encourage learning about the film industry.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: produces two musical productions annually at the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts. The NMSU-A Theatre on the Hill produces an annual spring performance for young audiences at the Rohovec Fine Arts Center on the New Mexico State University at Alamogordo campus,


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The Earth Day Fair is held annually on the last Saturday in April at Alameda Park Zoo. It features a butterfly release, a science fair, activities for children, and information booths from local health agencies and nonprofits.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Otero County Fair is held annually in early August at the County Fairgrounds at the corner of White Sands Boulevard and Fairgrounds Road in Alamogordo. It features a rodeo, animal judging, food and game booths, and carnival rides. Nonprofit and government agencies set up information booths in the exhibit hall.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The Cottonwood Arts and Crafts Festival is put on each Labor Day Weekend in Alameda Park by the Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce. It is primarily a showplace for vendors of handmade items, but also features music, entertainment, and food.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: White Sands Balloon Invitational is held annually in late September. Hot air balloons launch from the Riner-Steinhoff Soccerplex on First Street or from White Sands National Park and float over the Tularosa Basin.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Until the German Air Force left in 2019, Oktoberfest was celebrated annually in late September, hosted by the German Air Force at Holloman Air Force Base. The public was invited, and shuttle buses ran between Alamogordo and the base.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Flickinger Center for Performing Arts, located at 1110 New York Avenue, is a 590-seat theater created in 1988 from a re-purposed movie theater. It hosts concerts and live theatrical performances by touring groups, and is the venue for the local amateur group Alamogordo Music Theater.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alamogordo Museum of History (formerly Tularosa Basin Historical Society Museum) collects artifacts related to the history of Alamogordo and the Tularosa Basin. It is a private museum, operated by the Tularosa Basin Historical Society.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Among notable items in the collection is a 47-star US Flag; New Mexico was the 47th state admitted to the Union, and US flags were made with 47 stars only for one month, until Arizona was admitted.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The Museum shop has a large collection of local history books. The Historical Society also publishes its own series of monographs on local history, "Pioneer".


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The Museum had planned to move from its location at 1301 N. White Sands Boulevard to a historic adobe building at the corner of White Sands Boulevard and Tenth Street by the end of 2008,


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: American Armed Forces Museum is a museum on U.S. Route 82 near Florida Avenue that opened in 2011. It collects and displays all kinds of military memorabilia from all wars and military engagements.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The Shroud Exhibit And Museum, located in White Sands Mall, showcases a full-sized back-lit photographic transparency of the Shroud of Turin, a religious relic believed by some to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. They also feature a working VP8 Image Analyzer, the only one in the world where one can walk in and interact with this old analog computer. This town was founded the same year (1898) that Secundo Pia took the first photograph of the Shroud which started the modern investigation into the Shroud. This is highlighted in the museum. In 1977 in Albuquerque, they held the conference that resulted in the 1978 study of the Shroud with more scientists from New Mexico than any other state. The displayed photograph was created from the 1978 photographs made by Barrie M. Schwortz as part of the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP). The displays include historical background materials, scientific information, kiosks with a variety of information, videos available for viewing and an exhibit of electronic image analysis of the shroud, among other interesting artifacts.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The Alameda Park Zoo, the oldest zoo in the southwestern U.S., is located in the city. Several Union-Apache battles were fought near Oliver Lee Memorial State Park.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The Toy Train Depot, New Mexico's first railroad museum and home of America's Park Ride Train Museum located on the north end of Alameda Park, 1991 N White Sands Blvd, Alamogordo, NM 88310


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The Lady of the Mountain Run is held in December at the Griggs Sportsplex. The race consists of a half marathon, 10K, 5K, or corporate cup relay, and raises money for the needs-based Lady of the Mountain Scholarship Fund at NMSU-Alamogordo. Fun run/walks are popular in Alamogordo, although most are one-shot affairs put on as part of some larger event. One recurring event is Walk Out West, a walk held each October in Alameda Park Zoo. It incorporates a health fair, live music, and events for children. An offshoot of this is Dance Otero, an informal approach to ballroom dancing as a form of physical exercise that meets throughout the year. Both programs are run through Otero PATH, a local nonprofit that encourages preventive measures for good health.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: There are a number of annual sports events. The Tommy Padilla Memorial Basketball Tournament is an annual event held in March. It is an adult tournament that raises money for scholarships for Alamogordo High School students. The Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is a national program that holds a tournament in Alamogordo each year in May. Prior to 2008 it was hosted by the Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce, and since then by the City of Alamogordo. The city receives 72% of the entry fees and 5% of the gross proceeds taken in by vendors. The event is held annually at Washington Park in conjunction with Saturday in the Park and Armed Forces Day.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: In 2009 more than 233 teams participated in the tournament. Several golf tournaments are held each year at Desert Lakes Golf Course, including the Robert W. Hamilton Charity Golf Classic.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alamogordo's sole professional sports team is the White Sands Pupfish, a baseball team that played at Jim Griggs Field from 2011 to 2019, in the independent Pecos League, but did not play in a 4 team, abridged 2020 season hosted in Houston due to pandemic concerns.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alamogordo has numerous small parks scattered through the city, and a few larger ones. Some notable parks include:


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Not inside the city but nearby are several national and state parks. Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is about 10 miles south on U.S. Route 54, offers camping, hiking, and picnicking. White Sands National Park is located about southwest of Alamogordo along U.S. Route 70. The area is in the mountain-ringed Tularosa Basin valley area and comprises the southern part of a field of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals. The Lincoln National Forest, whose headquarters are in Alamogordo, is a mountainous area that starts about northeast of Alamogordo and offers hiking, fishing, and camping. The Sidney Paul Gordon Shooting Range, located about north of town at 19 Rock Cliff Road in La Luz, is a supervised range with rifle, pistol, and archery ranges. Several competitions are held at the range each month.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: It has a Council-manager government form of government (called Commission/Manager in New Mexico). There are seven city commissioners, each elected from a district within the city, on staggered 4-year terms. The city manager is considered the chief executive officer of the city and is tasked to enforce and implement the City Council's directives and policy. The mayor is a member of the City Council. As of 2018, Richard Boss holds the position of mayor.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alamogordo's fiscal year ends on June 30 each year; thus Fiscal Year 2008 runs from July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008. The FY 2008 budget projects income of $61,454,402


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: and expenditures of $73,655,777. Sources of City government income and their percentages of the whole were: gross receipts tax (31%), miscellaneous (23%), grants (22%), user fees (19%), and property tax (5%).


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: New Mexico State University Alamogordo is a two-year community college established in 1958. As of 2016, it has approximately 1,800 students. There are two high schools (including the comprehensive Alamogordo High School), three middle schools, and 11 elementary schools in the Alamogordo Public School District. Prior to 2008 there were two private schools in Alamogordo: Legacy Christian Academy and Father James B. Hay Catholic School (the latter of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces). A third private school, Imago Dei Academy, opened in August 2008 and provides a classical Christian education.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired is a state school located in Alamogordo. The German government formerly operated the Deutsche Schule Alamogordo (German School) for children of German Air Force personnel stationed at the German tactical training center at Holloman Air Force Base until the 2019 withdrawal of German forces. Following this, the aforementioned Imago Dei Academy purchased the building.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alamogordo Public Library serves Alamogordo and Otero County. The library at New Mexico State University Alamogordo is also open to the public.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The main newspaper in Alamogordo is "Alamogordo Daily News" (ADN), owned by MediaNews Group. "ADN" is published six days a week; on Monday, when it does not appear, subscribers receive the "El Paso Times".


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: "ADN" also publishes "Hollogram", a free weekly newspaper distributed at the nearby Holloman Air Force Base and covering happenings on base.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: There was no alternative newspapers published in Alamogordo but "The Ink", a free Las Cruces monthly newspaper devoted to the arts, is distributed in the city. There is now however a free online paper operated as citizen journalism produced by 2nd Life Media Alamogordo Town News https://2ndlifemediaalamogordo.town.news/ The city government publishes "City Profile", a monthly print newsletter that is mailed to all households in the city and is published electronically on the city web site,


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: One television station, KVBA-LD, broadcasts from Alamogordo. It has a religious format, and a weekly local news magazine broadcast Thursday through Saturday.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: There are two commercial radio broadcast companies, WP Broadcasting and Burt Broadcasting; each operates several stations in several formats.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: There are two "listener-supported" radio stations that do not carry advertising but depend on sponsorships and donations. KLAG has a gospel music radio format and some live coverage of local events, including many remote broadcasts from civic events.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: KALH-LP is a low-power FM station that carries a variety radio format, network news on the hour, and local news on some hours.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Neither station is an NPR affiliate. The local NPR outlet is KRWG-FM in Las Cruces, which reaches Alamogordo through a local relay transmitter.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Several major motion pictures were filmed in or near Alamogordo. The 2007 film "Transformers" was shot primarily at White Sands Missile Range, with additional filming at Holloman Air Force Base, both in the Alamogordo area.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The Otero County Film Office maintains a list of films shot partly or wholly in Alamogordo and Otero County.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: In May 2013, Alamogordo's City Commission approved a deal for Canada-based film production company Fuel Industries to excavate the Atari landfill site. Fuel Entertainment partnered with Xbox Entertainment Studios and Lightbox to make about the 1983 massive game burial of Atari games, said to be one of the gaming culture's greatest urban legends. On April 26, 2014, video game archaeologists began sifting through years of trash from the old Alamogordo landfill. The first batch of E.T. games was discovered after about three hours of digging, and hundreds more were found in the mounds of trash and dirt scooped by a backhoe. In the deal between the City of Alamogordo and Fuel Entertainment regarding the excavation, Fuel Entertainment was to be given 250 games or 10 percent of what was found.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The major intercity surface routes from Alamogordo are U.S. Highways 54, 70, and 82, all of which are four-lane roads. The major north–south street within the city is White Sands Boulevard. The Charlie T. Lee Memorial Relief Route, which is designated as U.S. Route 54 and 70, is a bypass road constructed to the west of the city in 2001 to relieve congestion on White Sands Boulevard.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: U.S. Route 70 and U.S. Route 54 traverses through the north and south ends of the city. At the south end of the city, White Sands Boulevard is a major named street that merges into U.S. Route 54/Charles T. Lee Memorial Relief Route, running south to El Paso, Texas. In the south part of the city, U.S. Route 70 splits from U.S. Route 54 in a southwestern direction towards Holloman Air Force Base, White Sands National Park, White Sands Missile Range, and Las Cruces. At the north end of the city, White Sands Boulevard and the Charles T. Lee Memorial Relief Route become a merged U.S. Route 54 and U.S. Route 70 running north to Tularosa. U.S. Route 82 starts at the same point and runs east to Cloudcroft and the mountain communities of Otero County, and then to Artesia. Meanwhile, in Tularosa, U.S. 70 and U.S. 54 both split in which U.S. 70 heads east through the mountains, and towards Ruidoso and Roswell, while U.S. 54 heads north towards Carrizozo and keeps going north until it heads east again starting in Vaughn.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alamogordo-White Sands Regional Airport is the municipal airport located in the Alamogordo area. It is primarily used for general aviation.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: There is no longer scheduled commercial service from New Mexico Airlines, previously operated under a subsidy from the Essential Air Service program.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Z-Trans is the mass transit system, providing paratransit and scheduled service within the city center and to White Sands Mall, Holloman Air Force Base and Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino in Mescalero. Z-Trans is unusual in that it is privately owned (by Zia Therapy Center, a non-profit), although it does get some local and state subsidies.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Union Pacific provides railroad freight services. Currently there is no intercity passenger train service.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The Alamogordo city government is building a network of bike routes and walking routes. More information and maps are in the Alamogordo Comprehensive Plan.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: The New Mexico Rails-to-Trails Association operates a Rails to Trails project to convert old railroad beds to walking trails. Its trail system in Otero County, the Cloud Climbing Rail Trail, is planned to eventually surround Alamogordo.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Electric power is supplied within the city by PNM Resources. PNM also provides electrical power in the Tularosa Basin, while Otero County Electric Cooperative, a member cooperative of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and of Touchstone Energy, serves other areas of the county. Natural gas is supplied within the city by New Mexico Gas Company. Severn Trent operates both the water and sewage treatment facilities for the City of Alamogordo. Severn Trent maintains all water storage facilities, booster pump stations, city wells and treats the waste water to be re-used by the city to water the parks, Desert Lakes Golf Course and is sold to construction companies for dust control. Rural houses have individual wells.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alamogordo has a dark sky ordinance to reduce the amount of light pollution in the night skies. The ordinance was passed in 1990 to promote the growth and scientific productivity of Apache Point Observatory.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center is a private not-for-profit 99-bed general hospital that serves the Alamogordo area. The hospital is a shared military/civilian facility that is also the hospital for nearby Holloman Air Force Base.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: each year with many facts and figures about health in Otero County. Otero County is ranked in the middle of most health rankings within the state. New Mexico is near the bottom of most national rankings, for example it was 38th in the United Health Foundation 2007 report, but has been slowly improving (it was 40th in 2005).


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: When health-promoting features are considered, instead of the healthiness of the population, Alamogordo is ranked as one of the 50 healthiest places to live in the United States, among six in New Mexico.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Among scientists, Edward Condon, a physicist and a past director of National Institute of Standards and Technology, was born in Alamogordo.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alan Hale, an astronomer and co-discoverer of Comet Hale-Bopp, grew up in Alamogordo and lives in nearby Cloudcroft.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Among politicians, Edwin L. Mechem, a past governor and United States Senator from New Mexico, was born in Alamogordo, as was Cindy Chavez, a past member of the city council of San Jose, California.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Edward Lee Howard, a former CIA case agent who allegedly gave classified material to the Russians and later defected to the Soviet Union, is an Alamogordo native.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: In sports, professional soccer player Adam Frye, jockey Donna Barton Brothers, and former professional American football cornerback Conrad Hamilton were all born in Alamogordo. Professional golf brothers Brad and Bart Bryant are from Alamogordo. Award Winning NCAA Coach and 2 time Olympic Trials Athlete turned Author/Artist Rene Sepulveda was born in Alamogordo.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Alexis Duprey, crowned Miss New Mexico in 2013 and again in 2015, is from Alamogordo. Mai Shanley, who became Miss USA 1984, represented the city as Miss New Mexico USA.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Lead singer of 2020 GRAMMY Nominee Black Pumas, Eric Burton, grew up in Alamogordo and graduated from Alamogordo High School.


title: Alamogordo, New Mexico

text: Susan Powell, who disappeared in Utah in 2009 and is believed to have been murdered by her husband Josh Powell, was born in Alamogordo and lived there as a young child.


title: Shelden Williams

text: Shelden DeMar Williams (born October 21, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "The Landlord", he played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, and later played in the NBA for parts of seven seasons.


title: Shelden Williams

text: Williams earned the 2005 and 2006 NABC Defensive Player of the Year Awards while at Duke, becoming only the fifth player in history to earn the award two consecutive years. He holds Duke's career blocks record, single-season blocks record, and career rebounding record.


title: Shelden Williams

text: During high school, Williams was a member of the National Honor Society and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.


title: Shelden Williams

text: Williams played for the Duke University men's basketball team from 2002 to 2006. He majored in sociology with a markets and management studies certificate.


title: Shelden Williams

text: Williams became only the third Duke basketball player to record a triple-double when Duke defeated Maryland on January 11, 2006, recording 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks.


title: Shelden Williams

text: Williams is the third player in ACC history to have 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, 350 blocks and 150 steals (joining Tim Duncan and Ralph Sampson). His 1,217 rebounds and 1,859 career points rank him seventh in ACC history and sixteenth in Duke history, respectively.


title: Shelden Williams

text: Williams was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft. On July 10, 2006, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Hawks. On November 1, Williams made his NBA debut, recording three rebounds and one block in a 75–88 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. On April 16, 2007, he logged a season-high 17 rebounds, alongside 16 points, in a 96–102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. A day later, he scored a season-high 21 points, alongside ten rebounds, in a 118–102 win over the Indiana Pacers. Williams was named the NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in April.


title: Shelden Williams

text: On February 16, 2008, Williams was traded, alongside Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Lorenzen Wright and a 2008 second-round pick, to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Mike Bibby. On April 15, Williams logged a season-high 11 rebounds, alongside 12 points and three steals, in a 101–124 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.


title: Shelden Williams

text: On February 19, 2009, Williams was traded, alongside Bobby Brown, to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Rashad McCants and Calvin Booth.


title: Shelden Williams

text: On February 22, 2011, Williams was traded to the New York Knicks in a three-way blockbuster deal also involving Minnesota Timberwolves that brought Carmelo Anthony to New York.


title: Shelden Williams

text: On August 28, 2012, Williams signed a one-year contract with the French League champions Élan Chalon. Over 10 games in the 2012–13 Euroleague season, he averaged 11.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.


title: Shelden Williams

text: On November 13, 2008, Williams married former University of Tennessee Lady Vols and current Chicago Sky basketball star Candace Parker. They have a daughter named Lailaa. In November 2016, Williams filed for divorce claiming irreconcilable differences. They had been living separately for 3 months prior to the divorce. They share joint custody with neither paying child support to the other.


title: Shelden Williams

text: Shelden started the Shelden Williams Foundation in 2019. The Shelden Williams Foundation is dedicated to empowering student athletes and their families by delivering and supporting initiatives that promote emotional and physical health through sports, education, and community involvement. For more info on the Shelden Williams Foundation, go to the website to see the latest events https://sheldenwilliamsfoundation.com/


title: Nicolae Ciucă

text: Nicolae Ionel Ciucă (; born 7 February 1967) is a Romanian politician and retired general of the Romanian Land Forces. Ideologically a conservative, he has been serving as Prime Minister of Romania since 25 November 2021 after receiving widespread parliamentary support on behalf of his own party, the National Liberal Party (PNL) as well as the Social Democratic Party (PSD), and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ). Additionally, since 10 April 2022, he has also been serving as the president of the National Liberal Party (PNL).


title: Nicolae Ciucă

text: Ciucă has participated in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was the Chief of the Romanian General Staff from 2015 to 2019, and from 2019 to 2021, he was the Minister of Defence. He briefly led, as caretaker, the Romanian government between 7 and 23 December 2020, in the aftermath of former Prime Minister Ludovic Orban's resignation. On 21 October 2021, he was appointed by President Klaus Iohannis to form a new government, following the dissolution of the Cîțu Cabinet and the rejection of Dacian Cioloș as Prime Minister, but subsequently gave up his mandate. Iohannis nominated him again on 22 November 2021.


title: Nicolae Ciucă

text: Nicolae Ciucă was born in Plenița, a commune in Dolj County. He graduated from the Tudor Vladimirescu Military Lyceum in Craiova in 1985 and from the Nicolae Bălcescu Land Forces Academy in Sibiu in 1988.


title: Nicolae Ciucă

text: During his military career, he participated in missions in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iraq. From 2001 to 2004 he was commander of the 26th Infantry Battalion (also known as the Red Scorpions), with which he participated in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Ancient Babylon in Iraq. During the latter operation in May 2004, at Nasiriyah, Iraq, he led Romanian troops in an armed engagement, reportedly the first battle in which Romanians were "active combatants" since World War II. He was promoted to the rank of General on 25 October 2010.


title: Nicolae Ciucă

text: In 2015, he replaced as Chief of the Romanian General Staff. His 4-year term under this office was extended for another year by the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in 2018. This caused a conflict between Iohannis, the Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă, and the then Minister of Defense, , who intended to change office.


title: Nicolae Ciucă

text: The National Liberal Party (PNL) proposed Ciucă as Minister of Defense of the First Orban Cabinet. He was transferred as a reserve on 28 October 2019, being succeeded as Chief of the Romanian General Staff by Daniel Petrescu. He became the Minister of Defence of Romania on 4 November 2019. In October 2020, he joined the National Liberal Party (PNL) to run as a senator for the Senate of Romania in that year's legislative elections and was subsequently elected as well.


title: Nicolae Ciucă

text: On 7 December 2020, following the resignation of Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, he was named the acting Prime Minister by Iohannis. He led as caretaker the government until a new coalition government was formed under Florin Cîțu in 23 December as a consequence of the result of the 2020 Romanian legislative election.


title: Nicolae Ciucă

text: However, after the Cîțu Cabinet was dissolved through a motion of no confidence on 5 October 2021, Iohannis nominated Ciucă as Prime Minister-designate on 21 October 2021. While the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) quickly agreed to renew a minority government with the PNL, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) offered to support him temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic in exchange for agreeing to 10 measures. He presented his government on 29 October. Having failed to win the support of the PSD or the Save Romania Union (USR), he gave up forming a government on 1 November. He was nominated again as Prime Minister-designate on 22 November 2021 and was confirmed by the parliament on 25 November after receiving 318 votes in favor. He was sworn in the office hours later.


title: Nicolae Ciucă

text: After Florin Cîțu resigned as president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) on 2 April 2022, followed by a 8-day ad interim leadership of Gheorghe Flutur, Ciucă was elected as the new party leader. He is the third consecutive politician since 2019 to serve as both Prime Minister and president of the PNL at one point, the first two being Orban and Cîțu.


title: Nicolae Ciucă

text: On 26 August 2022, Ciucă signed the first financing contracts of the so-called Anghel Saligny investment program, a foundation whose purpose is to develop settlements for Romanian civilians, formally created as a result of the 2021 Romanian political crisis.


title: Nicolae Ciucă

text: Ciucă is the recipient of the Ordre national du Mérite of the French Republic, Commander rank, and of the National Order of Merit of Romania, Commander rank. In 2019 he was awarded the Order of the Star of Romania, Officer rank. In 2020, he was awarded the Legion of Merit by U.S. Ambassador Adrian Zuckerman.


title: Still Standing (American TV series)

text: Still Standing is an American sitcom created by Diane Burroughs and Joey Gutierrez, that ran on CBS from September 30, 2002, to March 8, 2006. It starred Mark Addy and Jami Gertz as Bill and Judy Miller, a working-class couple living in Chicago. Taylor Ball, Renee Olstead, and Soleil Borda portrayed their children and Jennifer Irwin portrayed Judy's sister Linda.


title: Still Standing (American TV series)

text: A working-class couple in Chicago tries to instill good values in their three kids, Brian (Taylor Ball), Lauren (Renee Olstead), and Tina (Soleil Borda), but their own past experiences often conflict with the lessons they teach their children. Judy Miller (Jami Gertz) is the attractive wife, who was wooed by Bill (Mark Addy). Judy's sister Linda (Jennifer Irwin) continuously butts heads with Bill.


title: Still Standing (American TV series)

text: The show entered off-network syndication in 2006, and in the fall of that year 20th Television put it into barter-syndication. It aired on many affiliates, most notably MyNetworkTV and The CW. Lifetime Television acquired the cable rights from 2006 to 2009. ABC Family acquired the rights to rerun it in the Fall of 2010, but due to low ratings, it was removed from their lineup. The show returned to ABC Family (now Freeform), from December 2013 to June 2014, before it was ultimately replaced by "The Middle". As of 2021, the show has not aired on any cable channels since then.


title: Still Standing (American TV series)

text: A 2002 "Entertainment Weekly" review gave "Still Standing" a "D" grade, calling it an "apathetic" show that "does zip to freshen the Fatty-Gets-a-Family formula."


title: David Karp

text: David Karp (born July 6, 1986) is an American webmaster, entrepreneur, and blogger, best known as the founder and former CEO of the short-form blogging platform Tumblr.


title: David Karp

text: Karp began his career, without having received a high school diploma, as an intern under Fred Seibert at the animation company Frederator Studios, where he built the studio's first blogging platform and conceived, wrote, and edited their first internet video network, Channel Frederator. Karp went on to work for online parenting forum UrbanBaby until it was sold to CNET in 2006. Karp then started his own software consulting company, Davidville, where he worked with computer engineer Marco Arment on projects for clients. During a gap between contracts in 2006, the two began work on a microblogging website, which was launched as Tumblr in February 2007. As of November 1, 2017, Tumblr hosts over 375.4 million blogs. In August 2009, Karp was named Best Young Tech Entrepreneur 2009 by "BusinessWeek" and in 2010, he was named to the "MIT Technology Review" TR35 as one of the top 35 innovators in the world under the age of 35.


title: David Karp

text: On May 20, 2013, it was announced that Yahoo! and Tumblr had reached an agreement for Yahoo! to acquire Tumblr for $1.1 billion. Karp remained CEO of the company. Karp announced in November 2017 that he would be leaving Tumblr by the end of the year.


title: David Karp

text: Born in New York City, Karp grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. His parents are Barbara Ackerman, a science teacher from San Anselmo, California, and Michael D. Karp, a film and television composer. He has a younger brother named Kevin. His parents separated when he was 17. Karp attended the Calhoun School from pre-school through eighth grade, where his mother teaches science. In 1997, he began learning HTML and began designing websites for businesses. Karp went on to attend The Bronx High School of Science for one year before dropping out in 2001 and started homeschooling. At the time, Karp had aspirations of attending college in New York, or going to MIT and saw homeschooling and doing other projects on the side as a way to impress the colleges. Karp never returned to high school or earned his high school diploma.


title: David Karp

text: Karp began as an intern in 2000 for animation producer Fred Seibert, founder of Frederator Studios. Karp's mother had taught Seibert's children at the Calhoun School and was friends with his wife. Karp was fascinated with the work of Frederator's computer engineers and his visits became regular. After he started homeschooling, Karp also began taking Japanese classes at the Japan Society and saw a math tutor, with whom he worked on writing software for winning at blackjack and poker. When entrepreneur John Maloney sought technical help with UrbanBaby, an online parenting forum, a Frederator employee recommended Karp for the job. Karp completed the project, which had to be done in a couple of days, within four hours. Maloney made him UrbanBaby's head of product and gave him a small amount of equity. In 2003, while still working for UrbanBaby, Karp moved alone to Tokyo for five months.


title: David Karp

text: Karp left UrbanBaby after it was sold to CNET in 2006. Using money from the sale of his shares, Karp started his own software consultancy company, Davidville, functioning as a mix of client work and production of Karp's own products and services. Marco Arment joined the company as an engineer after replying to Karp's Craigslist ad. Karp had been interested in microblogging for some time and was waiting for one of the established blogging platforms to introduce their own microblogging platform. After a year of waiting, Karp and Arment began working on their own microblogging platform during a two-week gap between contracts in 2006. Tumblr was launched in February 2007 and within two weeks, the service had gained 75,000 users.


title: David Karp

text: In October 2007, Karp shut down his consultancy business as his work with Tumblr was interfering with his client work. Davidville was renamed Tumblr, Inc. and 25 percent of the company was sold to a small group of investors.


title: David Karp

text: On May 20, 2013, it was announced that Yahoo! and Tumblr had reached an agreement for Yahoo! to acquire Tumblr for $1.1 billion. As of November 1, 2017, Tumblr hosts over 375.4 million blogs. Karp announced in November 2017 that he would be leaving Tumblr by the end of the year.


title: David Karp

text: Karp has made personal investments into several companies including Superpedestrian, Inc., Sherpaa, Inc., and Splash.


title: David Karp

text: Karp joined the Planned Parenthood Board of Directors in 2014. In March 2017, Tumblr and Planned Parenthood launched an initiative calling on the tech industry to support Planned Parenthood.


title: David Karp

text: Karp endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in the lead-up to the 2016 United States election. Karp donated $11,200 to Mark Kelly in his 2020 special election campaign for U.S. Senate, making him the campaign's top individual donor.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: The lipid bilayer (or phospholipid bilayer) is a thin polar membrane made of two layers of lipid molecules. These membranes are flat sheets that form a continuous barrier around all cells. The cell membranes of almost all organisms and many viruses are made of a lipid bilayer, as are the nuclear membrane surrounding the cell nucleus, and membranes of the membrane-bound organelles in the cell. The lipid bilayer is the barrier that keeps ions, proteins and other molecules where they are needed and prevents them from diffusing into areas where they should not be. Lipid bilayers are ideally suited to this role, even though they are only a few nanometers in width, because they are impermeable to most water-soluble (hydrophilic) molecules. Bilayers are particularly impermeable to ions, which allows cells to regulate salt concentrations and pH by transporting ions across their membranes using proteins called ion pumps.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Biological bilayers are usually composed of amphiphilic phospholipids that have a hydrophilic phosphate head and a hydrophobic tail consisting of two fatty acid chains. Phospholipids with certain head groups can alter the surface chemistry of a bilayer and can, for example, serve as signals as well as "anchors" for other molecules in the membranes of cells. Just like the heads, the tails of lipids can also affect membrane properties, for instance by determining the phase of the bilayer. The bilayer can adopt a solid gel phase state at lower temperatures but undergo phase transition to a fluid state at higher temperatures, and the chemical properties of the lipids' tails influence at which temperature this happens. The packing of lipids within the bilayer also affects its mechanical properties, including its resistance to stretching and bending. Many of these properties have been studied with the use of artificial "model" bilayers produced in a lab. Vesicles made by model bilayers have also been used clinically to deliver drugs.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: The structure of biological membranes typically includes several types of molecules in addition to the phospholipids comprising the bilayer. A particularly important example in animal cells is cholesterol, which helps strengthen the bilayer and decrease its permeability. Cholesterol also helps regulate the activity of certain integral membrane proteins. Integral membrane proteins function when incorporated into a lipid bilayer, and they are held tightly to the lipid bilayer with the help of an annular lipid shell. Because bilayers define the boundaries of the cell and its compartments, these membrane proteins are involved in many intra- and inter-cellular signaling processes. Certain kinds of membrane proteins are involved in the process of fusing two bilayers together. This fusion allows the joining of two distinct structures as in the acrosome reaction during fertilization of an egg by a sperm, or the entry of a virus into a cell. Because lipid bilayers are fragile and invisible in a traditional microscope, they are a challenge to study. Experiments on bilayers often require advanced techniques like electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: When phospholipids are exposed to water, they self-assemble into a two-layered sheet with the hydrophobic tails pointing toward the center of the sheet. This arrangement results in two “leaflets” that are each a single molecular layer. The center of this bilayer contains almost no water and excludes molecules like sugars or salts that dissolve in water. The assembly process is driven by interactions between hydrophobic molecules (also called the hydrophobic effect). An increase in interactions between hydrophobic molecules (causing clustering of hydrophobic regions) allows water molecules to bond more freely with each other, increasing the entropy of the system. This complex process includes non-covalent interactions such as van der Waals forces, electrostatic and hydrogen bonds.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: The lipid bilayer is very thin compared to its lateral dimensions. If a typical mammalian cell (diameter ~10 micrometers) were magnified to the size of a watermelon (~1 ft/30 cm), the lipid bilayer making up the plasma membrane would be about as thick as a piece of office paper. Despite being only a few nanometers thick, the bilayer is composed of several distinct chemical regions across its cross-section. These regions and their interactions with the surrounding water have been characterized over the past several decades with x-ray reflectometry, neutron scattering and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: The first region on either side of the bilayer is the hydrophilic headgroup. This portion of the membrane is completely hydrated and is typically around 0.8-0.9 nm thick. In phospholipid bilayers the phosphate group is located within this hydrated region, approximately 0.5 nm outside the hydrophobic core. In some cases, the hydrated region can extend much further, for instance in lipids with a large protein or long sugar chain grafted to the head. One common example of such a modification in nature is the lipopolysaccharide coat on a bacterial outer membrane, which helps retain a water layer around the bacterium to prevent dehydration.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Next to the hydrated region is an intermediate region that is only partially hydrated. This boundary layer is approximately 0.3 nm thick. Within this short distance, the water concentration drops from 2M on the headgroup side to nearly zero on the tail (core) side. The hydrophobic core of the bilayer is typically 3-4 nm thick, but this value varies with chain length and chemistry. Core thickness also varies significantly with temperature, in particular near a phase transition.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: In many naturally occurring bilayers, the compositions of the inner and outer membrane leaflets are different. In human red blood cells, the inner (cytoplasmic) leaflet is composed mostly of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylinositol and its phosphorylated derivatives. By contrast, the outer (extracellular) leaflet is based on phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin and a variety of glycolipids. In some cases, this asymmetry is based on where the lipids are made in the cell and reflects their initial orientation. The biological functions of lipid asymmetry are imperfectly understood, although it is clear that it is used in several different situations. For example, when a cell undergoes apoptosis, the phosphatidylserine — normally localised to the cytoplasmic leaflet — is transferred to the outer surface: There, it is recognised by a macrophage that then actively scavenges the dying cell.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Lipid asymmetry arises, at least in part, from the fact that most phospholipids are synthesised and initially inserted into the inner monolayer: those that constitute the outer monolayer are then transported from the inner monolayer by a class of enzymes called flippases. Other lipids, such as sphingomyelin, appear to be synthesised at the external leaflet. Flippases are members of a larger family of lipid transport molecules that also includes floppases, which transfer lipids in the opposite direction, and scramblases, which randomize lipid distribution across lipid bilayers (as in apoptotic cells). In any case, once lipid asymmetry is established, it does not normally dissipate quickly because spontaneous flip-flop of lipids between leaflets is extremely slow.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: It is possible to mimic this asymmetry in the laboratory in model bilayer systems. Certain types of very small artificial vesicle will automatically make themselves slightly asymmetric, although the mechanism by which this asymmetry is generated is very different from that in cells. By utilizing two different monolayers in Langmuir-Blodgett deposition or a combination of Langmuir-Blodgett and vesicle rupture deposition it is also possible to synthesize an asymmetric planar bilayer. This asymmetry may be lost over time as lipids in supported bilayers can be prone to flip-flop. Although, it has been reported that lipid flip-flop is slow compare to cholesterol and other smaller molecules.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: It has been reported that the organization and dynamics of the lipid monolayers in a bilayer are coupled. For example, introduction of obstructions in one monolayer can slow down the lateral diffusion in both monolayers. In addition, phase separation in one monolayer can also induce phase separation in other monolayer even when other monolayer can not phase separate by itself.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: At a given temperature a lipid bilayer can exist in either a liquid or a gel (solid) phase. All lipids have a characteristic temperature at which they transition (melt) from the gel to liquid phase. In both phases the lipid molecules are prevented from flip-flopping across the bilayer, but in liquid phase bilayers a given lipid will exchange locations with its neighbor millions of times a second. This random walk exchange allows lipid to diffuse and thus wander across the surface of the membrane. Unlike liquid phase bilayers, the lipids in a gel phase bilayer have less mobility.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: The phase behavior of lipid bilayers is determined largely by the strength of the attractive Van der Waals interactions between adjacent lipid molecules. Longer-tailed lipids have more area over which to interact, increasing the strength of this interaction and, as a consequence, decreasing the lipid mobility. Thus, at a given temperature, a short-tailed lipid will be more fluid than an otherwise identical long-tailed lipid. Transition temperature can also be affected by the degree of unsaturation of the lipid tails. An unsaturated double bond can produce a kink in the alkane chain, disrupting the lipid packing. This disruption creates extra free space within the bilayer that allows additional flexibility in the adjacent chains. An example of this effect can be noted in everyday life as butter, which has a large percentage saturated fats, is solid at room temperature while vegetable oil, which is mostly unsaturated, is liquid.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Most natural membranes are a complex mixture of different lipid molecules. If some of the components are liquid at a given temperature while others are in the gel phase, the two phases can coexist in spatially separated regions, rather like an iceberg floating in the ocean. This phase separation plays a critical role in biochemical phenomena because membrane components such as proteins can partition into one or the other phase and thus be locally concentrated or activated. One particularly important component of many mixed phase systems is cholesterol, which modulates bilayer permeability, mechanical strength, and biochemical interactions.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: While lipid tails primarily modulate bilayer phase behavior, it is the headgroup that determines the bilayer surface chemistry. Most natural bilayers are composed primarily of phospholipids, but sphingolipids and sterols such as cholesterol are also important components. Of the phospholipids, the most common headgroup is phosphatidylcholine (PC), accounting for about half the phospholipids in most mammalian cells. PC is a zwitterionic headgroup, as it has a negative charge on the phosphate group and a positive charge on the amine but, because these local charges balance, no net charge.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Other headgroups are also present to varying degrees and can include phosphatidylserine (PS) phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG). These alternate headgroups often confer specific biological functionality that is highly context-dependent. For instance, PS presence on the extracellular membrane face of erythrocytes is a marker of cell apoptosis, whereas PS in growth plate vesicles is necessary for the nucleation of hydroxyapatite crystals and subsequent bone mineralization. Unlike PC, some of the other headgroups carry a net charge, which can alter the electrostatic interactions of small molecules with the bilayer.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: The primary role of the lipid bilayer in biology is to separate aqueous compartments from their surroundings. Without some form of barrier delineating “self” from “non-self”, it is difficult to even define the concept of an organism or of life. This barrier takes the form of a lipid bilayer in all known life forms except for a few species of archaea that utilize a specially adapted lipid monolayer. It has even been proposed that the very first form of life may have been a simple lipid vesicle with virtually its sole biosynthetic capability being the production of more phospholipids. The partitioning ability of the lipid bilayer is based on the fact that hydrophilic molecules cannot easily cross the hydrophobic bilayer core, as discussed in Transport across the bilayer below. The nucleus, mitochondria and chloroplasts have two lipid bilayers, while other sub-cellular structures are surrounded by a single lipid bilayer (such as the plasma membrane, endoplasmic reticula, Golgi apparatus and lysosomes). See Organelle.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Prokaryotes have only one lipid bilayer - the cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane). Many prokaryotes also have a cell wall, but the cell wall is composed of proteins or long chain carbohydrates, not lipids. In contrast, eukaryotes have a range of organelles including the nucleus, mitochondria, lysosomes and endoplasmic reticulum. All of these sub-cellular compartments are surrounded by one or more lipid bilayers and, together, typically comprise the majority of the bilayer area present in the cell. In liver hepatocytes for example, the plasma membrane accounts for only two percent of the total bilayer area of the cell, whereas the endoplasmic reticulum contains more than fifty percent and the mitochondria a further thirty percent.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Probably the most familiar form of cellular signaling is synaptic transmission, whereby a nerve impulse that has reached the end of one neuron is conveyed to an adjacent neuron via the release of neurotransmitters. This transmission is made possible by the action of synaptic vesicles which are, inside the cell, loaded with the neurotransmitters to be released later. These loaded vesicles fuse with the cell membrane at the pre-synaptic terminal and their contents are released into the space outside the cell. The contents then diffuse across the synapse to the post-synaptic terminal.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Lipid bilayers are also involved in signal transduction through their role as the home of integral membrane proteins. This is an extremely broad and important class of biomolecule. It is estimated that up to a third of the human proteome are membrane proteins. Some of these proteins are linked to the exterior of the cell membrane. An example of this is the CD59 protein, which identifies cells as “self” and thus inhibits their destruction by the immune system. The HIV virus evades the immune system in part by grafting these proteins from the host membrane onto its own surface. Alternatively, some membrane proteins penetrate all the way through the bilayer and serve to relay individual signal events from the outside to the inside of the cell. The most common class of this type of protein is the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). GPCRs are responsible for much of the cell's ability to sense its surroundings and, because of this important role, approximately 40% of all modern drugs are targeted at GPCRs.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: In addition to protein- and solution-mediated processes, it is also possible for lipid bilayers to participate directly in signaling. A classic example of this is phosphatidylserine-triggered phagocytosis. Normally, phosphatidylserine is asymmetrically distributed in the cell membrane and is present only on the interior side. During programmed cell death a protein called a scramblase equilibrates this distribution, displaying phosphatidylserine on the extracellular bilayer face. The presence of phosphatidylserine then triggers phagocytosis to remove the dead or dying cell.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: The lipid bilayer is a very difficult structure to study because it is so thin and fragile. In spite of these limitations dozens of techniques have been developed over the last seventy years to allow investigations of its structure and function.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Electrical measurements are a straightforward way to characterize an important function of a bilayer: its ability to segregate and prevent the flow of ions in solution. By applying a voltage across the bilayer and measuring the resulting current, the resistance of the bilayer is determined. This resistance is typically quite high (10 Ohm-cm or more) since the hydrophobic core is impermeable to charged species. The presence of even a few nanometer-scale holes results in a dramatic increase in current. The sensitivity of this system is such that even the activity of single ion channels can be resolved.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: A lipid bilayer cannot be seen with a traditional microscope, because it is too thin, so researchers often use fluorescence microscopy. A sample is excited with one wavelength of light and observed in another, so that only fluorescent molecules with a matching excitation and emission profile will be seen.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: A natural lipid bilayer is not fluorescent, so at least one fluorescent dye needs to be attached to some of the molecules in the bilayer. Resolution is usually limited to a few hundred nanometers, which is unfortunately much larger than the thickness of a lipid bilayer.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Electron microscopy offers a higher resolution image. In an electron microscope, a beam of focused electrons interacts with the sample rather than a beam of light as in traditional microscopy. In conjunction with rapid freezing techniques, electron microscopy has also been used to study the mechanisms of inter- and intracellular transport, for instance in demonstrating that exocytotic vesicles are the means of chemical release at synapses.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: P-NMR(nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy is widely used for studies of phospholipid bilayers and biological membranes in native conditions. The analysis of P-NMR spectra of lipids could provide a wide range of information about lipid bilayer packing, phase transitions (gel phase, physiological liquid crystal phase, ripple phases, non bilayer phases), lipid head group orientation/dynamics, and elastic properties of pure lipid bilayer and as a result of binding of proteins and other biomolecules.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: A new method to study lipid bilayers is Atomic force microscopy (AFM). Rather than using a beam of light or particles, a very small sharpened tip scans the surface by making physical contact with the bilayer and moving across it, like a record player needle. AFM is a promising technique because it has the potential to image with nanometer resolution at room temperature and even under water or physiological buffer, conditions necessary for natural bilayer behavior. Utilizing this capability, AFM has been used to examine dynamic bilayer behavior including the formation of transmembrane pores (holes) and phase transitions in supported bilayers. Another advantage is that AFM does not require fluorescent or isotopic labeling of the lipids, since the probe tip interacts mechanically with the bilayer surface. Because of this, the same scan can image both lipids and associated proteins, sometimes even with single-molecule resolution. AFM can also probe the mechanical nature of lipid bilayers.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Lipid bilayers exhibit high levels of birefringence where the refractive index in the plane of the bilayer differs from that perpendicular by as much as 0.1 refractive index units. This has been used to characterise the degree of order and disruption in bilayers using dual polarisation interferometry to understand mechanisms of protein interaction.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Lipid bilayers are complicated molecular systems with many degrees of freedom. Thus, atomistic simulation of membrane and in particular ab initio calculations of its properties is difficult and computationally expensive. Quantum chemical calculations has recently been successfully performed to estimate dipole and quadrupole moments of lipid membranes.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Most polar molecules have low solubility in the hydrocarbon core of a lipid bilayer and, as a consequence, have low permeability coefficients across the bilayer. This effect is particularly pronounced for charged species, which have even lower permeability coefficients than neutral polar molecules. Anions typically have a higher rate of diffusion through bilayers than cations. Compared to ions, water molecules actually have a relatively large permeability through the bilayer, as evidenced by osmotic swelling. When a cell or vesicle with a high interior salt concentration is placed in a solution with a low salt concentration it will swell and eventually burst. Such a result would not be observed unless water was able to pass through the bilayer with relative ease. The anomalously large permeability of water through bilayers is still not completely understood and continues to be the subject of active debate. Small uncharged apolar molecules diffuse through lipid bilayers many orders of magnitude faster than ions or water. This applies both to fats and organic solvents like chloroform and ether. Regardless of their polar character larger molecules diffuse more slowly across lipid bilayers than small molecules.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Two special classes of protein deal with the ionic gradients found across cellular and sub-cellular membranes in nature- ion channels and ion pumps. Both pumps and channels are integral membrane proteins that pass through the bilayer, but their roles are quite different. Ion pumps are the proteins that build and maintain the chemical gradients by utilizing an external energy source to move ions against the concentration gradient to an area of higher chemical potential. The energy source can be ATP, as is the case for the Na-K ATPase. Alternatively, the energy source can be another chemical gradient already in place, as in the Ca/Na antiporter. It is through the action of ion pumps that cells are able to regulate pH via the pumping of protons.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: In contrast to ion pumps, ion channels do not build chemical gradients but rather dissipate them in order to perform work or send a signal. Probably the most familiar and best studied example is the voltage-gated Na channel, which allows conduction of an action potential along neurons. All ion pumps have some sort of trigger or “gating” mechanism. In the previous example it was electrical bias, but other channels can be activated by binding a molecular agonist or through a conformational change in another nearby protein.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Some molecules or particles are too large or too hydrophilic to pass through a lipid bilayer. Other molecules could pass through the bilayer but must be transported rapidly in such large numbers that channel-type transport is impractical. In both cases, these types of cargo can be moved across the cell membrane through fusion or budding of vesicles. When a vesicle is produced inside the cell and fuses with the plasma membrane to release its contents into the extracellular space, this process is known as exocytosis. In the reverse process, a region of the cell membrane will dimple inwards and eventually pinch off, enclosing a portion of the extracellular fluid to transport it into the cell. Endocytosis and exocytosis rely on very different molecular machinery to function, but the two processes are intimately linked and could not work without each other. The primary mechanism of this interdependence is the large amount of lipid material involved. In a typical cell, an area of bilayer equivalent to the entire plasma membrane will travel through the endocytosis/exocytosis cycle in about half an hour. If these two processes were not balancing each other, the cell would either balloon outward to an unmanageable size or completely deplete its plasma membrane within a short time.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Exocytosis in prokaryotes: Membrane vesicular exocytosis, popularly known as membrane vesicle trafficking, a Nobel prize-winning (year, 2013) process, is traditionally regarded as a prerogative of eukaryotic cells. This "myth" was however broken with the revelation that nanovesicles, popularly known as bacterial outer membrane vesicles, released by gram-negative microbes, translocate bacterial signal molecules to host or target cells to carry out multiple processes in favour of the secreting microbe e.g., in "host cell invasion" and microbe-environment interactions, in general.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: Electroporation is the rapid increase in bilayer permeability induced by the application of a large artificial electric field across the membrane. Experimentally, electroporation is used to introduce hydrophilic molecules into cells. It is a particularly useful technique for large highly charged molecules such as DNA, which would never passively diffuse across the hydrophobic bilayer core. Because of this, electroporation is one of the key methods of transfection as well as bacterial transformation. It has even been proposed that electroporation resulting from lightning strikes could be a mechanism of natural horizontal gene transfer.


title: Lipid bilayer

text: This increase in permeability primarily affects transport of ions and other hydrated species, indicating that the mechanism is the creation of nm-scale water-filled holes in the membrane. Although electroporation and dielectric breakdown both result from application of an electric field, the mechanisms involved are fundamentally different. In dielectric breakdown the barrier material is ionized, creating a conductive pathway. The material alteration is thus chemical in nature. In contrast, during electroporation the lipid molecules are not chemically altered but simply shift position, opening up a pore that acts as the conductive pathway through the bilayer as it is filled with water.