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, a protein that is supposed to coat sperm to help them swim to an egg, unless that coating goes missing. that leave their sperm coat- free and thus lower their fertility, an international research team reported Wednesday. Today' s reproductive tests cannot spot the problem, said study co- author Dr. Theodore Tollner of the University of California, Davis. would have reduced sperm function, " he said.

Anywhere from 10 percent to 15 percent of American couples experience infertility, and doctors cannot always find the cause. A lack of sperm or problems with their shape or ability to move explains only a fraction of infertility. The California- led team found a new reason, a protein that' s part of a family of germ- killing molecules found on the surfaces of a variety of tissues. It' s secreted as sperm journey into the female reproductive tract, helping the sperm to penetrate the and to avoid being tagged as an invader by her immune system. means sperm cannot produce that coating. Lab tests show those sperm have a hard time making it through the mucus. But how much does that affect fertility?

The researchers tracked 500 newly married Chinese couples attempting to conceive. The was 30 percent lower among couples with a husband who harbored that double mutation, scientists reported in the .

Having just one copy of the mutated gene doesn' t seem to hinder conception. The coatless sperm don' t always fail, so it' s not clear just how much this issue contributes to male infertility overall. But creating a test to diagnose these men would be easy, the researchers said. Such a test potentially would lessen the time that a couple having problems conceiving spends in limbo before trying treatments such as having sperm placed directly into the woman' s . One day, a vaginal gel might even let sperm pick up the protein coating as it travels into the cervix.

The California researchers say they are already trying that with animals.

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Thanks to feminism, American schools are no longer benefitting from an invisible wage subsidy that allowed them to attract bright, over- qualified college- educated teachers at low wages and poor working conditions. That' s the controversial conclusion reached in a recent  by Marc Tucker at the nonpartisan National Center on Education and the Economy. Tucker blasts the United States for largely ignoring teacher quality in favor of a focus on grade- by- grade standardized K- 12 testing.

He points out that those priorities are out of sync with the strategies of developed countries that appear to be churning out students who are better educated than ours. Instead, countries such Finland, Singapore and the Chinese province of Shanghai- - who far outperformed their American counterparts on the latest international PISA tests- - are investing in an elite teaching force recruited from the top third or higher tier of each country' s college classes by offering various incentives. In the United States, high school students who said in 2008 that their intended college major was education scored in the bottom third of American students who took the SATs. Tucker argues that the United States has benefitted from an invisible wage subsidy that has now disappeared- - the limited professions available to women until just a few decades ago. He argues that America & # 34; greatly benefitted for the better part of a century from having a teaching force largely made up of college- educated women whose choice of career was largely limited to nursing, secretarial work and teaching, and some minorities whose career choices were similarly constrained. & # 34; Schools benefited from a capable workforce willing to work at & # 34; below- market wages under poor working conditions, & # 34; he says.

But that' s now changed: Those who accepted that deal are now leaving the workforce in droves.  There are now more women than men in the professional schools preparing young people for many of the most prestigious professions and they are taking advantage of those opportunities. The United States is now about to get the least capable candidates applying to our education schools when we need the best. The higher status teachers enjoy isn' t the only thing that separates the United States from Finland, however. As Valerie Strauss , the country has a 3 percent poverty rate for its children, while 21 percent of American children are currently living in poverty.

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Odds are, if you& # 39; re a kid in Detroit, school is rough. Odds are, your . Odds are, your teacher may lose her job.

Odds are you& # 39; ll be in a class with . are dropping. Odds are, money is a problem. is high. Odds are, someone in your family is out of work.

The is working to even those odds.

Wealthy or poor, budget cuts affect everyone. For many Michigan residents, it& # 39; s hard enough to pay the mortgage without trying to come up with money for new school clothes, supplies and books. I& # 39; ve been a teacher in Michigan for many years. One thing I see every September, is that no matter how misbehaved a kid is during the school year, he& # 39; s usually excited for that first day of school.

Even the older kids, who have lost some of the innocent enthusiasm of youth, retain a resilience, a positive attitude that puts the best foot forward. Unfortunately, poverty and lack of support quickly dull that attitude. I have watched students arrive ready to learn, only to despair against the mountain of odds stacked against them. It& # 39; s not so much a poverty of resources that cripples them, although that does too.

It& # 39; s a poverty of spirit, a sense that if they succeed in school, a feeling that no matter how hard they try, failure is inevitable. It& # 39; s heartbreaking. Greater Grace cares. Fourteen years ago, Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, of the metro area Greater Grace Temple, discovered that school teachers were paying for school supplies from their own earnings because students couldn& # 39; t afford basic school items.

I& # 39; ve done that many times and know fellow educators who also have. It& # 39; s expensive; sometimes I truthfully couldn& # 39; t afford it.

But it was better than seeing kids do without. Bishop Ellis decided to start a to provide free school supplies and resources for kids and families.

He got local businesses and charitable organizations involved, to create a network of support for students. Greater Grace collects donations of school supplies, books, and even school clothes. There are free haircuts, coupons, free health screenings and and a drawing for two free scooters. There& # 39; s food, games, prizes and a warm family atmosphere at Greater Grace& # 39; s Back- to- School Festival. For 2011, the Greater Grace Temple ( 23500 W.

Seven Mile, Detroit ) will hold its 14th annual Back- to- School Festival on Aug. 16 from 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. Families are encouraged to arrive early as supplies are limited to availability.

Here are some other school supply donation sites. Staples and are partnering to collect school supplies and backpacks. Now is a great time to stock up on cheap , and paper; why not donate some to this cause? & # 34; Gift of Music& # 34; program collects musical instruments.

They refurbishes the instruments and distribute them to school children. Our daughter& # 39; s violin cost us $ 600; I would not have been able to afford it had it not been for student plan. Spread the Music is a great family resource.

In the heat of summer, no one wants to think about winter, but it& # 39; s a good time to think about donating . Be sure to check out the drive. If someone you know will need a , that& # 39; s another good resource to get a free one. Odds are high on budget cuts and financial issues.

It& # 39; s good to see organizations working to even the odds. A life- long resident of & # 34; Pure Michigan& # 34; , Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about people, places, events and issues in the Great Lakes State.

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The FBI on Tuesday morning arrested a Fairfax, Va. , man charged with acting as an unregistered, paid agent of the Pakistani intelligence services for twenty years.

Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, 62, a U. S. citizen, & # 34; is accused of a decades- long scheme with one purpose- - to hide Pakistan' s involvement behind his efforts to influence the U. S. government' s position on Kashmir, & # 34; said Neil Mac.

Bride, U.

S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, in an . Fai serves as director of the Washington, D.

C. - based Kashmiri American Council ( KAC) . The outfit, founded in 1990, describes itself as a & # 34; not- for- profit organization dedicated to raising the level of knowledge in the United States about the struggle of the Kashmiri people for self- determination. & # 34; But a 45- page affidavit released by the Justice Department Tuesday alleges that Fai was in almost constant touch with Pakistani intelligence handlers who arranged the funding and messaging for the group. The Kashmiri Action Council is & # 34; actually run by elements of the Pakistani government, including Pakistan' s military intelligence service, the Inter- Services Intelligence Agency ( ISI) , & # 34; the FBI press release said.

The money Fai' s Pakistani handlers arranged to be funneled to the group was then used & # 34; to contribute to U.

S. elected officials, fund high- profile conferences, and pay for other efforts that promoted the Kashmiri cause to decision- makers in Washington, & # 34; Mac. Bride said. Beginning in 2007, the FBI repeatedly warned Fai of information- - obtained from confidential witnesses, electronic surveillance and physical searches - - that his work was being  funded by the Pakistani government. The FBI also notified Fai in writing in 2010 of his obligation to register as an agent of the Pakistani government with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agent Registration Act ( FARA) , according to the FBI. But Fai consistently denied & # 34; that either he or KAC had ever engaged in any activities for or provided any services to Pakistan or any foreign entity, & # 34; the Justice Department said.

Also charged Tuesday in the case but still at large was Zaheer Ahmad, 63, a U. S. citizen believed to be residing in Pakistan.

The Pakistani embassy denied Tuesday that it knew anything about the case and said Fai was not a Pakistani citizen. But on page 42 of the affidavit, it states that as recently as this year - - on January 6, 2011 - - Fai received a message from Fozia Bibi, the third secretary of the Pakistani embassy, & # 34; attaching a list of 11 media persons and six intellectuals from think tanks that Fai was encouraged to meet and cultivate. & # 34; Asked about the described embassy contact, Pakistani ambassador to the U. Husain Haqqani said the embassy had no involvement or knowledge of Fai' s allegedly illegal funding arrangements. & # 34; Ms.

Bibi was in touch [ with] Mr. Fai about an event he organized [ with] US officials & # 38; scholars present, & # 34; Haqqani in response to a query posted by the Envoy. Fai has given donations to both Republican and Democratic U. S. politicians, Politico' s Ben Smith : & # 34; Fai' s largest contribution, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, was to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, to which he gave $ 5, 000 in 2006 and $ 1, 000 in 2008.

He gave smaller sums more recently to the DSCC and the DNC, and has given $ 5, 000 to Rep. Dan Burton ( R- Ind. ) ,  $ 250 to Barack Obama and $ 500 Rep. Yvette Clarke ( D- N. Y. ) . & # 34;

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